Ten guards and four inmates were killed Sunday when gunmen in armored vehicles attacked a state prison in Ciudad Juárez, which borders El Paso, Texas, according to state officials.
According to the first reports, it was a shooting during a visit to celebrate the New Year.
At about 7:00 a.m., several armored vehicles arrived at the jail and gunmen opened fire on the guards, the Chihuahua prosecutor's office said.
In addition to the deceased, another 13 people were injured and at least 24 inmates escaped.
Mexican soldiers and state police regained control of the jail hours later.
The state attorney's office said its staff were investigating the incident.
A Mexican soldier stands guard outside a state prison in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. Christian Chavez / AP
In a statement, the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office (FGE) announced that the situation is already "under control" in said prison;
although he did not report the number of people who escaped from Cereso.
"Personnel from the Mexican Army, the National Guard, the State Public Security Secretariat and the State Investigation Agency, collaborate with the FGE to restore tranquility in Cereso," he explained.
However, the municipal president of the border Ciudad Juárez, Cruz Pérez, confirmed that "there are 10 custodians and four (lifeless) inmates."
Background
In August, a riot inside the same jail spread to the streets of Ciudad Juárez, leaving 11 people dead.
On that occasion, two inmates were murdered inside the prison and later suspected gang members began shelling the city, killing four employees of a radio station who were doing a promotion at a restaurant.
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Violent acts are frequent in Mexican prisons, even in some where the authorities have only nominal control.
Clashes often occur between inmates of rival gangs, which in places like Ciudad Juárez act as factions of drug cartels.
Shortly after Sunday's attack on the jail, municipal police came under fire but managed to capture four men after a chase, according to the statement from the state prosecutor's office.
Hours later, police killed two suspected gunmen who were driving a pickup truck.
The country is experiencing a wave of violence and this 2022 closed with 31,127 registered murders, while, in 2021, Mexico reported 33,308 homicides, after the two most violent years in its history, under the mandate of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with 34,690 victims of murder, in 2019, and 34,554, in 2020.
With information from EFE and AP
