Mexican authorities continue to investigate an overnight prison riot in the state of Nuevo Leon where 52 inmates have been confirmed to have been killed. Twelve people were injured.
UPDATE: On Monday shortly after 8 a.m. Nuevo Leon’s Governor Jaime Rodriguez held a streaming news conference where he confirmed that 52 inmates had been killed in the prison riot and 12 others had been injured.
Rodriguez stated that there were no women or children present in the area where the riot took place as some local outlets had reported. The riot and fire took place in the section C of the facility.
“We are not going to hide anything, we will work to clarify every detail and to hold people accountable.” Rodriguez said. The during his speech, the governor asked the public gathered at the prison to allow authorities to do their work so that they can move the bodies out of the prison and a begin the process of identifying the victims.
Original story continues…
The riot broke out shortly after 1 a.m. in the Topo Chico state prison near the Mexican industrial hub of Monterrey, officials with the Nuevo Leon government confirmed to Breitbart Texas.
The prison is largely controlled by members of the Los Zetas drug cartel who are believed to have tried to fight their way out. The Nuevo Leon government issued a brief statement on social media confirming that the riot was under control and that a inmates had not managed to breakout.
Nuevo Leon, and its main city of Monterrey, has long been considered a high valued territory for Mexican drug cartels where Los Zetas have held a strong presence for years. The region not only provides a large metropolitan area but prized routes that drug cartels can use to move massive quantities of drugs from central parts of Mexico into Texas.
Breitbart Texas has reported in the past on how Mexican drug cartels have complete operational control inside of that country’s prisons. The most dramatic case dealt with the Piedras Negras prison where Los Zetas had a clandestine crematorium that they used to incinerate the remains of their victims. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the victims in that case were in fact innocent civilians who had been kidnapped from nearby communities.
Last November, the Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project was able to interview a former Gulf Cartel enforcer who recalled his time in the Reynosa prison where he claimed to have personally killed at least 30 people. The man, identified as Betillo, spoke about a riot in that prison where the government admitted to 21 inmates dying. According to the enforcer, the death toll was much higher.
The Nuevo Leon government is expected to release more information during the day.
This article has been updated with new information.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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