Mexico closes notorious prison: The state gives up

Three and a half years after a massacre of dozens of dead, the authorities closed the Topo Chico prison in northern Mexico. Governor of the State of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez, locked the main entrance of the prison in Monterrey with a padlock.

Tras casi 80 años de mal funcionamiento, hoy cerramos las puertas de uno de los penales más peligrosos, el # TopoChico. Esto forma parte de las acciones del tema penitenciario, por las que aseguramos la buena gobernabilidad en los # penales. # CierreTopoChico pic.twitter.com/p8uPObVPxN

"After almost 80 years, we close one of the most dangerous prisons today," Rodríguez wrote on Twitter. The end of the notorious detention center was long prepared: over the past year, more than 4,500 inmates had been transferred to other prisons.

Topo Chico was in operation for 76 years and was considered one of the prisons with the most frequent and violent outbreaks of violence in Mexico. In February 2016, fights between warring gangs from the drug milieu had killed 49 people. "We are experiencing a tragedy," said Rodríguez at the time. The unacceptable prison conditions in the overcrowded prison had been a reason for the outbreak of violence.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, the authorities had completely lost control of the prison. In the future, the institution will serve as an archive of the provincial government. A park is also to be built on the site.