Police Blame Arson For Fire That Killed 22 Girls In Guatemala Shelter
Dozens more were treated in area hospitals for burns.
By Sofia Menchu
SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala, March 8 (Reuters) - A fire tore through a home for abused teenagers and children in Guatemala, killing at least 22 girls on Wednesday after some residents set mattresses ablaze following an overnight attempt to escape from the overcrowded center, police said.
A crowd of relatives, some wailing with grief, gathered outside the government-run Virgen de Asuncion home for youths aged up to 18, in San Jose Pinula, 15 miles southwest of the capital, Guatemala City.
Advertisement
Hospitals reported about 40 people being treated for burns.
The blaze started when a group of young people who had been isolated by authorities after a riot and an escape attempt at the center on Tuesday night set fire to mattresses, said Nery Ramos, head of Guatemala’s national police.
Authorities were investigating whether those who started the blaze were the ones who had tried to escape, Ramos added.
“What happened is extremely serious, and even more so for the fact that it could have been avoided,” Anabella Morfin, Guatemala’s solicitor general, told a news conference.
“This should never have happened.”
Burnt bodies partially covered in blankets were strewn across the floor of a blackened room in the home, pictures posted to Twitter by firefighters showed.
Advertisement
“We will fully support the institutions responsible for investigating, and we will contribute to finding the truth,” President Jimmy Morales said in a brief statement on national television Wednesday night.
Morales earlier declared three days of national mourning.
Mayra Veliz, secretary general of the attorney general’s office, pledged a transparent investigation into the cause of the blaze. She said a group of disabled girls had been bused to another shelter as detectives scoured the site.
Plagued by Latin America’s worst rates of child malnutrition and street gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha that often prey on minors, Guatemala can be a traumatic place to grow up. Conditions in the Central American nation’s public institutions are often dismal with widespread overcrowding.
DISTRAUGHT RELATIVES
On Tuesday night, riot police went in to quell unrest over the home’s conditions. Dozens of residents escaped, but 54 were recaptured and isolated, Ramos said.
Advertisement
The Virgen de Asuncion home has long suffered from overcrowding, with Guatemalan media reporting that more than 500 people were crammed into the center designed to house 400.
Distraught relatives said abuse was common at the center, which is run by the Ministry for Social Welfare, and presidential spokesman Heinz Heimann condemned what he described as the shelter’s open living arrangements.
“It shouldn’t be possible that girls who simply were suffering, that didn’t have any problems with the law, are mixed with young people who have committed crimes,” Heimann said.
“This can’t be allowed to continue.”
Domestic worker Alicia Lopez, 50, had been outside the home for hours trying to find out what happened to her autistic 12-year-old son who came to the center with a drug addiction. She said he had been raped there last week.
“I still don’t have information. ... I want justice for him,” Lopez said at the home, which takes in abandoned children as well as victims of abuse and trafficking.
Advertisement
Andrea Palomo told reporters in tears that she had brought her 15-year-old son to the home to discipline him. He told her he was mistreated and complained that gang members there tattooed the children, she said.
Guatemala’s ombudsman for human rights decides whether children are placed in the home and some parents praised it.
Cristina Puac, 59, said her adopted teenage daughter Gladys was placed there for being rebellious and aggressive, and stealing things.
“When I came to see her, everything seemed fine,” she said. “She never complained about anything.”
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.