A Guatemalan judge has sentenced six individuals for their roles in the tragic deaths of 41 young girls in a state-run shelter for vulnerable children that was plagued by a history of abuse. The victims perished in a devastating fire at the Virgin de la Asunción Safe Home in 2017, which drew national and international condemnation for exposing the government’s neglect and mishandling of welfare facilities. The six sentenced include two former police officers and four child protection officials, all of whom pleaded not guilty. They were found guilty of homicide, mistreatment of minors, breach of duties, and abuse of authority.
Judge Ingrid Cifuentes’s ruling is seen as a crucial step toward justice for the victims and their families in one of the most heartbreaking episodes in Guatemalan history. Ingrid Cifuentes has also mandated an investigation into the role of former President Jimmy Morales, who ordered the deployment of the police at a facility holding juveniles who had not committed any crimes.
The ex-social welfare secretary, Carlos Rodas, has received the harshest sentence of the group, being condemned to 25 years in prison. Prior to his sentencing, Rodas addressed the court, insisting he had not harmed the victims or survivors. He was joined by his former colleague, ex-police officer Lucinda Marroquín, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for her failure to act during the fire, despite holding the key to the girls’ locked room and reportedly reacting with profanity upon hearing about the blaze, suggesting she let them burn.
The tragedy began on the night of March 8, 2017, when a fire broke out in a classroom at the facility, where 56 girls and teenagers had been confined in case of “bad behavior.” The home, which was overrun with about 700 children despite only being able to accommodate 500, held many who had been taken by courts due to various reasons – abuse, migration, or running away from home. The girls lock themselves in a room the previous night before the fire after a group escaped earlier. Following their return by the police, they were locked up without bathroom access and left to sleep on foam mattresses.
Desperate to be freed, one of the girls lit a mattress on fire, hoping it would prompt the authorities to open the door. Tragically, police refused to intervene for nine minutes, resulting in the deaths of 41 and severe burns to 15 more.
Judge Cifuentes emphasized that the fire was the climax of sustained abuses within the shelter, including instances reported to the authorities but left unaddressed. Post-mortem examinations also revealed the presence of drugs in some victims, substantiating their claims of being administered sleeping pills, a factor contributing to their attempted escape.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/12/guatemala-shelter-fire
