At least 12 people have died, and several others were injured after a fire swept through a drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The blaze broke out at the facility in Guanajuato state, a region long plagued by drug cartel violence and turf wars.
While the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, the Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office stated that forensic experts are on site collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses in an effort to determine what sparked the deadly incident.
Guanajuato, one of Mexico’s most violent states, has seen repeated attacks on rehabilitation centers in recent years, often linked to criminal organizations seeking to forcibly recruit recovering addicts or settle scores. These centers meant to be places of healing have increasingly become targets in the country’s escalating drug war.
Although officials have not publicly linked this latest fire to organized crime, the context is hard to ignore. In April, nine people were killed in a similar assault at a rehab clinic in Sinaloa, a state infamous for cartel activity.
Authorities have previously warned that some drug gangs view such facilities as recruiting grounds, especially when patients attempt to leave cartel life or resist coercion.
Mexico has been gripped by a wave of drug-related violence since the government launched a militarized crackdown on cartels in 2006. Since then, over 480,000 people have been killed and more than 120,000 remain missing, according to official figures — a toll that continues to rise with near-daily tragedies like this one.
Victims of Sunday’s fire have not yet been publicly identified, and families of those in treatment at the center have gathered nearby, awaiting news of their loved ones.
As investigators work to uncover the truth behind the fire, the incident has reignited urgent questions about the safety of vulnerable populations in Mexico’s war on drugs, particularly those trying to escape addiction and violence, only to find themselves caught in the crossfire.
