19 dead in Mexico prison attack, cartel kingpin escapes with dozens of prisoners

Americas, News January 4, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

A prison attack in the Mexican border town of Juarez resulted in 19 deaths. The attack was planned by the affiliates of an infamous cartel leader Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, also known as “El Neto”, who escaped with 25 other prisoners during the attack.

A heavily armed group of men arrived at the prison in military-grade armored vehicles and launched a simultaneous attack on the prison and the municipal police station in Juarez, a northern city in the state of Chihuahua bordering the United States.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack and what were the motives of the attackers. However, later the authorities indicated that the attack was carried out to free the Los Mexicles leader, Ernesto ‘El Neto’ Pinon, who was captured in 2010 and sentenced to 224 years of prison on the charges of murder and kidnapping.

According to Defense Minister Luis Crescencio Sandoval, the attack allowed at least 25 inmates to escape from the prison along with El Neto. Initially, 14 people were reported dead as a result of the attack, however, the number later increased to 19. Ten prison guards, seven prisoners, and two attackers were reported dead after the incident.

El Neto’s escape from the prison also gave rise to unrest in the surrounding area involving Los Mexicles’ rival gangs and cartels. Federal authorities were called in to contain the unrest in prison as well as the surrounding areas. According to Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez, the planning for the attack was coordinated from inside the prison.

Rodriguez also mentioned that a “VIP zone” had been active inside the state-run prison with drugs and money, as he slammed the administration of the state of Chihuahua, which is responsible for prison management. “That’s the state’s responsibility because federal authorities can’t intervene in these places,” she said.

The security minister added that state authorities and prison management had not requested that any dangerous prisoners, such as “El Neto,” be transferred from the overcrowded prison to a higher-security location.

^{A member of the Mexican Army walks near a vehicle of the forensic medical service (SEMEFO) at the Cereso state prison number 3 after unknown assailants entered the prison and freed several inmates on January 1, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)}

Chihuahua state prosecutor Roberto Javier Duarte said in a separate news conference that state authorities would investigate the prison attack and that those guilty of corruption would be prosecuted.

The Juarez prison has a reputation for being loosely managed by the administration. Earlier in August 2022, the Mexican army had to intervene after the prisoners from Los Chapo, the infamous Sinaloa Cartel formerly led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and members of the Los Mexicles cartel clashed. The prison fight later spread outside between the two rival gangs and resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people, most of whom were civilians.