(Mexico) The attack Sunday against a prison in the city of Ciudad Juarez, in northern Mexico, to break out a drug baron ended in the death of 19 people and the escape of 25 inmates, according to a final report on Monday from the authorities.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a press conference that 10 guards, seven detainees and two assailants were killed. A guard and 14 inmates were also injured, and five assailants were captured.
The previous toll reported 14 dead, including 10 guards, and 13 injured.
Among the escapees is the leader of a gang allied with the Juarez Cartel in its war against the Sinaloa Cartel, once led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, sentenced to life in prison in the United States.
Ernesto Alfredo Piñon was the “leader of this criminal group known as ‘El Neto’,” Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said at the same press conference.
He had been locked up since 2009, sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for kidnapping and murder, according to the prosecutor’s office in the state of Chihuahua (north).
Armed men had already tried to free him during his transfer after his arrest. He had been injured in the attack.
The onslaught of armed men who arrived in armored vehicles came at dawn on Sunday, as the families of detainees waited to visit relatives over the New Year.
This prison, which depends on the government of the state of Chihuahua, was the scene of several brawls and riots, including one that killed 20 people in March 2009, one of the bloodiest in the country’s history. In August 2022, a clash between rival gangs left three prisoners dead.
On Monday, the police were looking for the escapees and the other members of the commando.
Ciudad Juarez, which borders the American city of El Paso, is a strategic hub for drug trafficking to the United States.
According to official figures, Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 homicides, mostly attributed to criminal organizations, since the launch of a controversial military counter-narcotics offensive in December 2006.