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Jail guards watch as inmates walk out in Mexico
Source: Agencies |
May 23, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SECURITY camera footage shows that guards at a Mexican prison nonchalantly stood by as 53 dangerous inmates walked out - and didn't rush into action with guns drawn until well after their convoy of escape vehicles disappeared into the night.
The footage, first published by Reforma newspaper on Thursday and then released publicly by the Attorney General's Office, provided a rare inside look at lax security inside Mexico's prisons, a problem that makes prosecuting drug smugglers vastly more difficult. Interpol described the worst of the criminals, who escaped without firing a shot, as "a risk to the safety and security of citizens around the world."
Interpol issued an international security alert for 11 of the prisoners involved in the 2-minute-and-52-second prison break on May 16 in Cieneguillas, in Zacatecas state.
About a dozen of the prisoners were drug cartel suspects. Several had been jailed for kidnapping, said Ricardo Najera, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.
The inmates stole 23 guns from a prison storage room before escaping, Najera said.
The video shows bored-looking guards watching TV before one of the prisoners opens a gate to his cell block and then orders a group of inmates to follow him into the guards' room. It is unclear if the prisoner had a key to the cell block or if the gate was unlocked.
The guards step aside, making no moves to stop the escape, until they are shoved into the cell block by the inmates, some of whom are armed.
Prisoners then cover the camera with a blanket.
Meanwhile, a second security camera outside the prison filmed the arrival of gunmen in police cars shortly before 5am. Two guards run to open the front gate without questioning the drivers.
Eight gunmen wearing jackets with federal police insignia then enter the prison building and escort the inmates to the cars waiting in the prison parking lot.
Najera said 51 people have been ordered jailed for 30 days pending an investigation into their possible involvement, including the director of the prison and all 44 guards on duty during the escape.
The footage, first published by Reforma newspaper on Thursday and then released publicly by the Attorney General's Office, provided a rare inside look at lax security inside Mexico's prisons, a problem that makes prosecuting drug smugglers vastly more difficult. Interpol described the worst of the criminals, who escaped without firing a shot, as "a risk to the safety and security of citizens around the world."
Interpol issued an international security alert for 11 of the prisoners involved in the 2-minute-and-52-second prison break on May 16 in Cieneguillas, in Zacatecas state.
About a dozen of the prisoners were drug cartel suspects. Several had been jailed for kidnapping, said Ricardo Najera, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.
The inmates stole 23 guns from a prison storage room before escaping, Najera said.
The video shows bored-looking guards watching TV before one of the prisoners opens a gate to his cell block and then orders a group of inmates to follow him into the guards' room. It is unclear if the prisoner had a key to the cell block or if the gate was unlocked.
The guards step aside, making no moves to stop the escape, until they are shoved into the cell block by the inmates, some of whom are armed.
Prisoners then cover the camera with a blanket.
Meanwhile, a second security camera outside the prison filmed the arrival of gunmen in police cars shortly before 5am. Two guards run to open the front gate without questioning the drivers.
Eight gunmen wearing jackets with federal police insignia then enter the prison building and escort the inmates to the cars waiting in the prison parking lot.
Najera said 51 people have been ordered jailed for 30 days pending an investigation into their possible involvement, including the director of the prison and all 44 guards on duty during the escape.
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