Mexico Prison Attack Frees Mexicles Gang Leader 'El Neto'

Seventeen people have now died because of a bold attack on a state jail in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, located over the border of El Paso, Texas.

AP noted that the attack looked like it was carried out to free the local gang's boss.

According to security minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez, ten of those who died were prison guards ambushed by shooters who came early on Sunday in armored trucks and opened fire on the front door and inside the dormitories. The remaining seven were prisoners.

The escaped prisoners were members of the Mexicles gang, which Rodriguez connected to the Caborca Cartel.

She claimed that one of them was the leader of the Mexicles gang.

For many years, it was known that the Mexicles collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel and has been one of the principal gangs in Juarez for decades.

Two other shooters who were killed after shooting at local police just before the attack on the prison, according to Sandoval, were probably just a diversion.

They were not among the first 17 fatalities reported.

Hunt for Mexico Prison Attack Escapees Turns Bloody

As authorities hunted for 30 prisoners who launched a deadly jailbreak on Sunday, a shootout left at least seven people dead in Mexico.

As state detectives searched for the fugitives, shooters opened fire on them, killing at least two.

It is unknown if any of the escapees were part of the five shooters who were also killed in the shootout.

Initially, authorities reported that around 20 prisoners had fled, but the director of the state prison system has since stated that "at least 30" prisoners had escaped.

According to BBC, Ernesto Pión de la Cruz, also known as El Neto, the leader of the Mexicles gang, escaped.

El Neto, 33, has been serving a term for kidnapping and murder for 14 years.

His group tried to rescue him during a jail transfer in 2010, but it was unsuccessful, and he was hurt.

He appears to have wielded considerable power from behind bars, where he lived in greater comfort than less well-connected inmates.

An investigation of the prison allegedly "discovered" 10 "VIP cells," according to Mexico's minister of defense.

A jacuzzi, plasma TV, and 1.7 million Mexican pesos ($87,000) in a safe were just a few luxuries in El Neto's cell.

On top of the weapons, the police discovered 16 kilograms of marijuana, four kilograms of crystal meth, and 1.5 kilograms of heroin.

Prison officials in Chihuahua have accused the federal government of negligence for failing to monitor the facility properly. In contrast, federal authorities have denied the state's requests to transfer El Neto to a federal facility with tighter security.

Ciudad Juárez locals expressed fear to the media following the breakout. El Neto is blamed for a series of killings on "Black Thursday" in August 2022, when ten citizens with no ties to criminal gangs were murdered in the city.

To stop him and the other fugitives from leaving the state, police are conducting checks at nearby airports and on major highways.

Jail Director Fired Following Mexico Prison Attack

As police began a search for missing convicts, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday that they had dismissed the director of the prison near the U.S. border. At least 30 inmates escaped over the weekend following a deadly riot, per US News.

Chihuahuan border state prosecutors announced the dismissal of the prison's director, Alejandro Alvarado, and said he was being investigated for his potential role in the jailbreak.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the events on Sunday was one of the highest from prison violence in Mexico in recent memory.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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