About 1,000 people marched through Tijuana’s Zona Río on Wednesday afternoon in support of two faith-based rehabilitation facilities facing abuse allegations. The demonstration backed Patrulla Espiritual and Clínica Jireh, two centers at the center of a dispute over the detention of a transgender woman.
The march began at the Cuauhtémoc monument and moved toward Las Tijeras, a well-known intersection in the Zona Río commercial district. Members of Patrulla Espiritual joined the gathering at the endpoint. The march caused traffic disruptions along the route, one of Tijuana’s most heavily trafficked corridors for both residents and visitors.
Abuse Allegations Spark Counter-Protests
Activist collectives organized a counter-response, alleging dehumanization and abuse at both facilities. The dispute appears to have been triggered by the release of a transgender woman who had been held at the centers. Specific details about the circumstances and duration of her detention were not immediately available.
The confrontation between supporters and critics of the facilities reflects a long-running problem in Tijuana. The city has at least 110 registered drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, many of them faith-based or informal operations known locally as “anexos.” These facilities have operated for decades in legal gray areas, often run by former addicts rather than licensed medical professionals.
A Pattern of Abuse at Informal Rehab Centers
Tijuana’s informal rehab sector has a documented history of abuse. A 2016 study published in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy found that 72% of surveyed participants reported physical abuse at such centers. The head of CICER, the state accreditation agency for rehab facilities, has previously said that more than half of Tijuana’s rehabilitation centers exploit patients for profit by sending them into the streets to raise money.
Drug cartels have also used unregulated centers to recruit recovering addicts. Dozens of people have been killed in trafficking-related shootings at rehabilitation facilities in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez since 2008.
Regulation Remains a Challenge
Mexico’s federal law outlines standards for treatment centers and patient rights during residential stays. In practice, enforcement has been weak. State government data have placed Tijuana’s registered facility count at 63 centers with 3,255 beds, though the actual number of operating facilities is believed to be far higher when unregistered anexos are included.
The case involving the transgender woman’s detention adds a civil rights dimension to the ongoing debate. Advocacy groups have increasingly pushed for oversight of faith-based centers that may hold people against their will or subject vulnerable populations to forced treatment without medical supervision.
This story was first reported by Zeta Tijuana.