The Jalisco government will pay all the hospital costs in the United States for “Elizabeth,” the Guadalajara woman severely burned in a bus fire set by cartel members in the wake of the attempted assassination of a former state attorney general in May.
Family members of Elizabeth staged a small protest last weekend at the Niños Herioes glorieta, complaining that they are being pressured for more money from the University of Texas in Galveston, where their relative was airlifted on June 8.
Hector Perez Partida, head of Jalisco’s Finance Department (Sepaf), confirmed this week that the government’s promise to cover all of Elizabeth’s treatment expenses will be honored.
Elizabeth’s eight-month-old son Tadeo died in the bus fire. She suffered burns over 90 percent of her body.
Elizabeth has undergone a series of delicate surgical interventions in Texas, and the hospital fees are mounting.
Pérez Partida said the original estimate of the cost of treatment approved by the State Congress was $US2 million but legislators could increase that figure.
It is unclear how much longer Elizabeth will need to be hospitalized in Texas.