Mexico Prison Riot Left 49 Inmates Dead
A huge and brutal prison brawl between two violent rival narco-linked factions erupted in a heavily crowded detention facility in Northern Mexico leaving 49 inmates (and counting) dead and a dozen more of injured in one of the deadliest Mexican prison riots in recent years.
According to an article by The Economist, initial reports mentioned that the riots were sparked by the rivalry the Zetas and the Gulf, two of Mexico's known large drug cartels. However, Nueva Leon state governor clarified that the bloody confrontation in Topo Chico prison in Monterrey was a result of internal Zetas affair where two factions vied for control of the prison.
Mexicans have been wary over the immense corruption that has plagued the country's penitentiary system where "nobody wants to be a guard" due to low pay and where inmates could effectively take control of the prison facility.
"What we have to see as a reality in the entire penitentiary system is that there is self-rule (referring to prisoners). All this corruption inside the prison creates the conditions we have today," explained Gov. Jaime Rodriguez in a news conference as quoted saying by The Guardian.
As a result of several violent prison riots in recent memory, reformers have called for widespread reorientation of Mexico's organized crime-controlled prison system where inmates convicted of minor offenses share the same facility with the country's most wanted.
"This clash ... has to serve as an alarm or a call to authorities to take responsibility and not permit this to happen again," remarked security and justice researcher Leslie Solis of public-policy think tank Mexico Evalua as reported the Washington Times.
