A fire at a drug rehabilitation center in the violence-plagued Mexican state of Guanajuato killed 12 people and injured at least three others on June 1, 2025, according to authorities. The blaze broke out early Sunday morning in the town of San Jose Iturbe, where investigators are still determining the cause of the deadly incident.
Mexican media outlets reported that the victims had been locked inside the rehabilitation facility when the fire occurred. The municipal government expressed solidarity with the families of those killed while they attempted to overcome addictions, stating it would help cover funeral expenses for the victims.
The Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office indicated that experts were gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses to establish the reasons for the incident. Mexico’s privately operated drug rehabilitation centers are frequently characterized as abusive, clandestine, unregulated and underfunded facilities that have been targets of similar attacks previously.
The industrial and agricultural state has experienced years of violent territorial disputes between the Jalisco New Generation cartel and a local gang known as the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. Guanajuato maintains the highest homicide count of any state in Mexico, reflecting the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Recent violence in the area has escalated significantly. In May 2025, investigators discovered 17 bodies during a search for missing persons in an abandoned house within the state. Days before that discovery, seven people, including children, were fatally shot in the same region, demonstrating the persistent danger facing residents.
Drug rehabilitation centers have become frequent targets for criminal organizations operating in Mexico. Authorities believe cartels sometimes execute patients who refuse to join their ranks, while gangs also kill suspected street-level dealers from rival organizations who seek shelter at these facilities.
A pattern of attacks on rehabilitation centers has emerged across Mexico over the past decade and a half. In April 2025, gunmen attacked a drug rehabilitation clinic in Sinaloa state, resulting in at least nine fatalities. Two years earlier, in July 2022, six people were shot dead at a rehabilitation center near Guadalajara in western Mexico.
The violence against these facilities reached particularly devastating levels in 2020 when heavily armed men stormed a drug rehabilitation center in the central city of Irapuato, killing 27 people. A decade before that incident, 19 people died in an attack on a rehabilitation center in Chihuahua, a northern Mexican city. More than a dozen additional attacks on similar facilities occurred between those two major massacres.
The most recent fire highlights ongoing concerns about safety conditions and regulatory oversight at these privately operated facilities. Many centers operate without proper licensing or safety protocols, creating dangerous conditions for vulnerable individuals seeking treatment for substance abuse disorders.
The San Jose Iturbe incident occurs amid broader security challenges facing Mexico as criminal organizations continue territorial battles that frequently spill over into civilian areas. The proximity of rehabilitation centers to these conflicts makes residents and staff particularly vulnerable to both direct attacks and collateral damage from ongoing violence.
Local authorities continue investigating the specific circumstances surrounding the June 1 fire, including whether it resulted from criminal activity or other causes. The investigation will determine if safety violations or structural issues contributed to the death toll.
Mexican federal and state authorities have struggled to provide adequate security for healthcare facilities, including rehabilitation centers, in regions dominated by cartel activity. The lack of effective regulation and oversight of private treatment facilities compounds these security challenges, leaving patients and staff exposed to multiple risks, including inadequate emergency procedures and substandard safety equipment.