MEXICO CITY – An assault on a jail within the Mexican border city of Juarez left 19 lifeless and allowed a cartel kingpin to flee together with two dozen different prisoners, authorities stated Monday.
An armed group, touring in armored automobiles, launched almost-simultaneous assaults on the jail and the municipal police station, Defense Minister Luis Crescencio Sandoval stated in a news convention.
Authorities stated the Sunday morning assault had coincided with preparations for New Year’s Day visits. They initially stated the loss of life toll was at the very least 14, however by Monday, Sandoval stated, this had risen to 19 — 10 guards, seven prisoners and two attackers.
The assault allowed 25 inmates, together with Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, also called “El Neto,” to flee. Pinon is a high gunman for the Juarez-based “Los Mexicles” cartel, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez stated on the news convention.
Federal authorities have been known as in to comprise the unrest. They later discovered a “VIP zone” within the state-run jail with medicine and cash, stated Rodriguez, who slammed the Chihuahua state administration.
“That’s the state’s responsibility, because federal authorities can’t intervene in these places,” Rodriguez stated.
She added that state authorities had not requested that any harmful prisoners, comparable to “El Neto,” be transferred from the overcrowded jail to a higher-security location.
State prosecutor Roberto Javier Duarte stated in a separate news convention on Monday that state authorities would “completely clean out the penitentiary system” in response to the assault and that these responsible of corruption can be prosecuted.
Later Monday, Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez stated in a press release that Chihuahua authorities had requested the cheap switch of an undetermined variety of prisoners to federal websites.
The incident Sunday resulted in one of many highest loss of life tolls from jail assaults in Mexico lately. —Reuters
