Major attack on prison in Mexico
Pursuit of escaped prisoners claims more lives
After the major attack on a prison in Mexico with numerous fatalities, more people were killed in the pursuit of escaped prisoners.
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A total of 26 people were killed in the attack and subsequent chase.
Two prosecutors and five suspected criminals were killed in the operation on Monday, the security authorities in the northern state of Chihuahua said on Monday. The previous attack on the prison in the border town of Ciudad Juárez had already killed 19 people.
An armed commando, traveling in armored vehicles, attacked the prison in Ciudad Juárez on New Year’s morning, enabling 25 prisoners to escape. According to Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, ten guards, seven prisoners and two attackers were killed. 14 prisoners and one guard were injured. According to Sandoval, five attackers were initially arrested after the attack.
Escaped drug lord sentenced to over 200 years in prison
In the detention center, members of various criminal gangs and drug cartels are held in separate cell blocks. Among those who escaped was drug lord Ernesto Alfredo Piñón of the Juárez cartel. The criminal known as “El Neto” was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison in 2010 for murder and kidnapping.
Shortly after his arrest in 2009, armed attackers tried to free the drug lord. “El Neto” was injured in the attack at the time.
Violence is the order of the day
The city of Ciudad Juárez, with a population of 1.5 million, lies on the US border and has suffered for years from the violence of rival drug cartels fighting for control of smuggling routes into the US. In the prison that has now been attacked, there have been repeated fights and uprisings in recent years. In March 2009, 20 people were killed in such an incident.
Mexican prisons are chronically overcrowded and violent clashes are the order of the day. In recent years, the situation in prisons has continued to deteriorate due to conflict between criminal gangs.
Mexico’s security authorities have been waging war against drug gangs in the country since 2006. According to official figures, more than 340,000 people have been killed. According to the authorities, most of these deaths are at the hands of criminal organizations.
(AFP)