Draft:New's Divine nightclub tragedy

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New's Divine nightclub tragedy
Date20 June 2008 (2008-06-20)
Time18:00 CDT (UTC-5)
Location
CauseStampede occurred after a police raid

The New's Divine nightclub tragedy occurred at a nightclub located in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City, where on the evening of 20 June 2008, according to the authorities's official version, a crowd crush occurred in which nine assistants and three police officers died, while sixteen others were seriously injured.

Background

The New's Divine nightclub was located on Avenida Ing. Eduardo Molina in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City. It opened in 1996 and previously operated under the names Bingos and La Rocka before being renamed New's Divine in 2005. The nightclub was owned by Alfredo Maya Ortiz. It was authorized to admit minors during the afternoon and licensed to sell alcoholic beverages in the evening, provided they were not sold to minors.[1] However, local residents reported that alcohol and drugs were being sold to minors inside the venue.[2]

Raid

On 20 June 2008, at approximately 18:00 CDT (UTC-5), 200 officers from the Secretariat of Public Security of the Federal District, under the command of Guillermo Zayas González, were deployed to conduct a police operation at the New's Divine nightclub. According to the official account, nightclub personnel announced over the loudspeakers that police were present and that patrons needed to evacuate. The announcement reportedly caused panic among those inside, who attempted to leave the venue. However, an order was issued to prevent anyone from exiting, causing a large number of people to crowd near the nightclub's only exit.[3][4][5]

As the crowd surged toward the exit, both attendees and officers inside began to suffer from oxygen deprivation and compression caused by the crush. Nine attendees, aged between 13 and 29, died at the scene, along with three police officers.[3][4][5] Also, an undetermined number of people resulted injuried.[6]

On the opposite, witnesses reported that, following the evacuation announcement, people initially began leaving calmly. However, panic reportedly erupted when officers deployed tear gas and used force to control the crowd. Attendees rushed toward the exit, where officers stationed outside began detaining individuals regardless of their well-beings.[3] Detainees were then loaded onto police and city transit buses. Several teenage girls later testified that they had been sexually abused and photographed while naked.[7]

Aftermath

Memorial
The memorial center in 2024

Marcelo Ebrard, the head of government of the Federal District at the time, acknowledged there were "serious mistakes". Zayas González was removed from his position.[8]

References

  1. Bolaños, Claudia (22 June 2008). "News Divine, un antro que operaba desde 1996" [New's Divine, a nightclub that had been operating since 1996]. El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. "New's Divine: Qué pasó realmente ese 20 de Junio de 2008" [New's Divine: What Really Happened on 20 June 2008]. 24 Morelos (in Spanish). 18 November 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  3. Granados, Omar (20 June 2012). "A 4 años de la tragedia en News Divine: La versión de los papás de las víctimas" [4 years after the News Divine tragedy: The victims' parents' version of events]. Animal Político (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. Ruiz, Kevin (20 June 2023). "Se cumplen 15 años de la tragedia del New's Divine ¿Qué fue lo que pasó?" [15 years after the New's Divine tragedy What happened?]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. "El caso New's Divine cumple cinco años sin altos funcionarios sancionados" [New's Divine case completes five years with no senior officials sanctioned]. Expansión (in Spanish). 19 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  6. Sánchez Castañeda, Paolo; Sánchez Ley, Laura (14 September 2025). "Corrieron sin salida: testimonios inéditos del operativo mortal en el New's Divine" [A Dead End: Unpublished Accounts of the Deadly Raid at New's Divine]. Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  7. "New's Divine: Qué pasó realmente ese 20 de Junio de 2008" [New's Divine: What really happened that 20 June 2008]. 24 Morelos (in Spanish). 18 November 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. Otero, Silvia; Pantoja, Sara (22 June 2008). "En la mira, mandos por operativo en antro" [In the crosshairs: commanders targeted in a nightclub raid]. El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2026.

Category:2008 disasters in Mexico Category:Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City Category:History of Mexico City Category:Human stampedes in 2008