A prison break in Mexico has left 17 people dead. The Associated Press reported that a shootout in a penitentiary in the northern city of Gomez Palacio, Mexico occurred leaving at least 11 inmates and six guards dead.
CNN reported that the inmates started firing guns at guard towers and running through tunnels under the prison. The AP reported that the prisoners tried to climb the back wall of the penitentiary when the guards started to fire into the air in order to stop them. After that the gunfire started. A statement from the department said, "The inmates started firing guns into the watchtowers and into custodian areas."
Military troops came in and stopped the prison break. The BBC reported that city authorities said that one group of prison inmates had attacked their rivals from a different drug gang on Monday and that they used guns that the stole from prison guards.
The BBC reported that the areof Ciudad Juareza is one of the most violent cities in the world. "Clashes between rival gangs who fight over the local drug business and trafficking routes into the US are a frequent occurrence in the streets of Juarez," said a BBC correspondent in Mexico, Julian Miglierini.
Prison breaks are not uncommon in Mexico. The AP reported that more than 120 inmates broke out of a prison in Piedras Negras in September. Authorities have said that the escapes often have to do with drug gangs fighting turf battles in Mexico.
CNN reported that in a prison fight last year, 11 inmates were killed. In July 2010 the attorney general's office in Mexico said that prison officials had let out inmates of the Cereso No.2 prison in police cars to launch an attack on rival drug gang members at a birthday celebration. It left 17 dead.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
