According to the government, a large-scale attack by an armed commando on a prison in Mexico killed 19 people and released 25 prisoners. The attackers appeared in armored vehicles in front of the detention center in Ciudad Juárez on New Year’s morning and opened fire on police officers and guards, according to the Chihuahua Prosecutor’s Office.
The attack sparked fighting between inmates at the large state prison in northern Mexico near the US border. According to media reports, inmates set fire to furniture and attacked guards. It took security forces five hours to regain control of the situation.
Ten prison guards among the dead
According to Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, another 15 people were injured in the fighting on Monday. Ten prison guards and guards, seven inmates and two attackers were among the fatalities. Five attackers were arrested.
The detention center houses members of various criminal gangs and drug cartels in separate cell blocks. According to the minister, 25 prisoners managed to escape during the armed attack. The exact motive for the attack was initially unclear and the investigation is ongoing.
Drug cartel leader sentenced to 200 years in prison
According to Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Ernesto Alfredo Piñon, known as “El Neto”, was one of the escapees. The head of a drug cartel was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for murder and kidnapping, according to the Chihuahua Prosecutor’s Office in 2010.
The city of Ciudad Juárez, with a population of 1.5 million, is located on the US border and has for years suffered from the violence of rival drug cartels fighting for control of smuggling routes into the US. Bloody battles keep breaking out in the city jail. In 2009, 20 people were killed in a prisoner mutiny. Last August, three inmates were killed in fighting between members of rival gangs.
Source: Krone
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