Five people died and more than 30 were rushed to hospitals after eating a meal that included vegetables, chorizo and rice. The exact agent of intoxication is as yet unknown but suspicions have fallen on the food donated to the center by a third party for the occasion. It remains unclear whether the food was poisoned intentionally.
Jalisco Health Ministry (SSJ) Director José Antonio Muñoz Serrano said patients had symptoms consistent with cyanide poisoning, including vomiting, cyanosis (blue skin coloring), high blood pressure, and pallor. As of Tuesday, 24 patients had been discharged, with eight more in stable condition and only one still serious.
Muñoz added that he will not know anything for sure until the autopsy and test results come back from the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences (IJCF).
According to an unnamed source close to the investigation cited by Guadalajara daily Milenio, forensic authorities have already ruled out cyanide or arsenic poisoning.
Adding to suspicions of poisoning, state prosecutors and health workers on the scene felt sick from chemical smells. The prosecutors questioned Adrián García Rojas, in charge of the center, as well as Carlos Alberto Sainz and Antonio Jiménez Gutiérrez, the cooks.
The IJCF say test results could take at least two weeks, as they have yet to finish the autopsies on the five who died in the incident.
The dead have been identified as Jesús Daniel Martínez Páez, 15, Francisco Javier Huerta Martínez, 41, Ruben Cervantes Avia, 36, Salvador Rodriguez Zarate, 62, and Carlos Enrique Navarro Toscano, 31.
The rehabilitation center, Garam, occupies the tallest residence on its block of squat, square buildings on Federación near Mariano Jiménez, one of countless narrow unidirectional streets that weave the swath of working-class neighborhoods just east of Calzada Independencia.
The center operated there for years without an official license from the city government. However, the SSJ commented in a document filed for change of administration by the center 10 months ago that there had been no complaints about it.
The center has been closed by the city during the investigation.
According to the State Council Against Addiction in Jalisco (CECAJ), about 60 percent of all such known centers are not officially licensed. While there is no legal requirement for registry, a law that went into effect just last month obligates centers to undergo regular inspections, including health and safety checks and emergency procedures.