Mexico prison: at least 16 people killed in the Cieneguillas riot
Authorities in central Mexico report that a riot at a prison resulted in the deaths of at least 16 prisoners.
Clashes at the jail facility in the state of Zacatecas town of Cieneguillas injured five more people.
Officials said that throughout the about two-and-a-half-hour-long riot, inmates engaged in handgun and knife fights.
Mexico’s jails, many of which are overcrowded and controlled by drug gangs, are frequently the scene of violent reports.
The fight started at the Regional Center for Social Reintegration in Cieneguillas at around 14:30 (20:30 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the state security service, and it was over by 17:00.
Three other firearms and knives were subsequently discovered within the prison. One prisoner was apprehended with a gun still in his possession.
One victim died subsequently in a hospital, and fifteen victims passed away while incarcerated. Ismael Camberos Hernandez, the state security secretary for Zacatecas, informed local reporters that some victims had been shot, while others had been stabbed or physically assaulted.
During the riot, no police or guards were hurt. The state government said it had opened an investigation to determine who was at fault and how the guns entered the prison, though it was unclear exactly how it began.
This is just the most recent instance of a tragic altercation between prisoners in Mexico, a country whose jail systems are infamous for being overcrowded and corrupt. Six persons lost their lives in a riot that broke out in a facility in the central state of Morelos in October.
