Mexican border town jail attack results in 19 deaths

MEXICO CITY (Reuters – Nine people were killed in an attack on a Mexican border prison, Juarez. The attackers also allowed a cartel kingpin escape with two dozen other prisoners.

A group of armed men, travelling in armored vehicles launched almost simultaneous attacks on the prison, and the municipal police station. Defense Minister Luis Crescencio Sandoval stated this in a press conference.

According to authorities, the attack on Sunday morning coincided with New Year’s Day preparations. Although they initially stated that 14 had died, Sandoval later said that it was now 19: Ten guards, seven prisoners, and two attackers.

The attack enabled 25 inmates to escape, including Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz (also known as “El Neto”), who were among them. Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Security Minister, stated that Pinon is the top gunman of the Juarez-based cartel “Los Mexicles,” during the news conference.

To contain the unrest, federal authorities were summoned. Rodriguez claimed that they found a “VIP Zone” in the prison run by the state, containing drugs and money. Rodriguez blasted Chihuahua’s state administration.

Rodriguez stated, “That’s their responsibility, since federal authorities can’t interfere in these places.”

She stated that no state authority had requested that any dangerous prisoner, like “El Neto,” be moved from the prison’s overcrowded cells to a more secure location.

Roberto Javier Duarte the state prosecutor stated in a separate news conference Monday, that the state authorities would “completely clear out the penitentiary sector” in response to the attack. The statement also indicated that anyone found guilty of corruption will be tried.

Sunday’s attack resulted is one of the deadliest prison attacks in Mexico in recent times.

(Reporting and Writing by Lizbeth Daz; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing By Jonathan Oatis