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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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19 prisoners die in Mexican jail clash
Source: Agencies |
August 16, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
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A FIGHT among prisoners at a jail in northern Mexico has left 19 inmates dead and more than 20 injured, Durango state officials said. The battle apparently involved inmates jailed on drug or organized crime charges.
Only prisoners were killed or injured in the Friday afternoon clash at the prison in the city of Gomez Palacio, about 220 kilometers south of the Texas border, said Durango State Public Safety Department spokeswoman Barbara Ramirez.
State Public Safety Secretary Jorge Torres Castillo said the fighting was "a dispute for dominance" among inmates at the prison. He suggested the presence of drug and organized crime suspects -- held on federal charges at a state-run, low-security prison -- were responsible.
"We have a significant number of criminals linked to organized crime," Torres Castillo said. "I think it is precisely the federal inmates who disturb the internal dynamics of the penitentiary, and they place the governance of it at constant risk."
Ramirez said the facility had been secured and that no escapes were reported. Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the prison, and shots were heard as police surrounded the facility.
"The penitentiary at Gomez Palacio continues to be a time bomb," Torres Castillo said, adding that state officials had previously asked that federal inmates be moved to other facilities.
Mexican drug gangs have participated in prison fights in the past.
Only prisoners were killed or injured in the Friday afternoon clash at the prison in the city of Gomez Palacio, about 220 kilometers south of the Texas border, said Durango State Public Safety Department spokeswoman Barbara Ramirez.
State Public Safety Secretary Jorge Torres Castillo said the fighting was "a dispute for dominance" among inmates at the prison. He suggested the presence of drug and organized crime suspects -- held on federal charges at a state-run, low-security prison -- were responsible.
"We have a significant number of criminals linked to organized crime," Torres Castillo said. "I think it is precisely the federal inmates who disturb the internal dynamics of the penitentiary, and they place the governance of it at constant risk."
Ramirez said the facility had been secured and that no escapes were reported. Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the prison, and shots were heard as police surrounded the facility.
"The penitentiary at Gomez Palacio continues to be a time bomb," Torres Castillo said, adding that state officials had previously asked that federal inmates be moved to other facilities.
Mexican drug gangs have participated in prison fights in the past.
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