Deadly fire at Mexican drug rehab center claims 12 lives

Published June 1st, 2025 - 09:10 GMT
Deadly fire at Mexican drug rehab center claims 12 lives
A pickup transport animals to be relocated to a ranch on the coast from Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico on May 20, 2025. About 700 animals -- from elephants and crocodiles, to lions and tigers -- have been moved from a sanctuary in northwest Mexico to a ranch on the coast due to threats and violence from criminal gangs, refuge administrators said. (Photo by Ivan MEDINA / AFP)

ALBAWABA - A tragic fire erupted at a drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico on Sunday, killing 12 individuals and injuring three others, according to the Guanajuato State Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out in a facility located in one of Mexico’s most violence-stricken regions. Organized crime groups, particularly drug cartels, have previously been linked to attacks on such centers, often targeting them to forcibly recruit recovering addicts.

In an official statement, the prosecutor’s office confirmed that forensic teams are collecting evidence and conducting witness interviews to determine the exact cause of the incident.

This is not the first violent episode involving rehab centers in Mexico. In April, armed assailants attacked a rehabilitation clinic in Sinaloa state, killing at least nine people. Officials suspect that drug cartels have increasingly resorted to eliminating or coercing patients who refuse to join their ranks.

Mexico has faced a wave of cartel-related violence since 2006. Government data indicates that nearly 480,000 people have been killed in criminal incidents since then, and around 120,000 remain missing, underscoring the deep crisis plaguing the country’s security landscape.

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