Security cameras captured a fugitive, who had escaped during a deadly riot at a Mexican state prison in Juárez, attempting to cross the southern U.S. border into El Paso, Texas, officials said Tuesday evening.
Twenty-five inmates escaped during a violent, large-scale breakout from the Cereso No. 3 state prison on New Year’s Day. The event left 10 guards and seven inmates dead, along with allowing 25 prisoners to escape.
Chihuahua authorities said it is unknown if the fugitive filmed by cameras made it across the border, but said El Paso law enforcement was notified. A search continues on both sides of the border. The identity of the fugitive was not disclosed.
The gang-related prison breakout on Sunday was followed by deadly shooting attacks on police, including a confrontation that left two state police officers and five alleged assailants dead Monday evening.
More:Warden fired, violence continues, ‘VIP’ cells discovered after Juárez prison breakout
The surge in violence and the manhunt for the escapees led to a massive response by city, state and federal forces, including the arrival of 200 Mexican special forces soldiers .
Mexico’s national defense department announced the army special forces troops are part of what the military calls Operation Juárez 2023, which seeks to help curb the rise in violence linked to organized crime.
The special forces soldiers will join more than 500 Mexican army soldiers and nearly 400 National Guard troops already working in conjunction with city and state police, the military said.
How the attack at the Juárez prison unfolded
The riot was a well-planned assault involving bulletproof vehicles, rifles and even a grenade launcher on the state-run prison holding about 3,900 inmates, top members of Mexico’s Security Cabinet said Monday at a news conference in Mexico City.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said the attack started about 6:30 a.m. Sunday when a white Hummer H2 pulled up and a guard was killed at a checkpoint at the prison entrance. The Hummer fled and two men inside were killed in a confrontation with police after a vehicle chase, he said.
The checkpoint attack is believed to have been a diversion for a planned riot that erupted inside the prison, said Sandoval, a Mexican army general. Prison guards and a reaction team responding to the riot were attacked by inmates armed with firearms.
Authorities are trying to determine how the weapons used by prisoners were smuggled into the facility. Sandoval explained that of 10 rifles found by responding forces, only three belonged to the guards.
The prison’s electrical system and gas lines were damaged during the rioting, causing delays as authorities tried to regain control of the facility, state officials added.
Aerial photos showed crowds of men in gray prison-issued sweatsuits forced to sit with their hands on their heads in the prison yards while surrounded by soldiers or state police as they regained control.
The Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office initially reported that at least 24 inmates had escaped. The number was later increased to 27, but Mexican federal authorities later determined there were actually 25 escapees after it was learned that two died.
The main target for police forces is Ernesto Alfredo Piñon de la Cruz, 33, known as “El Neto,” the eye patch-wearing reputed leader of the Mexicles gang who escaped while serving a more than 200-year sentence on kidnapping and homicide cases.
U.S. Consulate in Juárez reopens after deadly prison break
The U.S. Consulate in Juárez resumed normal operations on Wednesday after canceling public appointments on Tuesday because of safety concerns. The consulate also lifted its order for employees to shelter in place because of a spate of shootings between police and gunmen on Monday night.
“U.S. citizens in Ciudad Juárez should remain alert for potential violence throughout the city,” the consulate stated on its Twitter account.
High-risk inmates transferred to other prisons after 17 die
The Mexican military, in conjunction with Chihuahua authorities, has begun transferring some high-risk inmates out of the Cereso No. 3 to prisons in other parts of Mexico, state officials said.
On Tuesday, security forces loaded 191 prisoners onto National Guard planes that flew them to Mexico City. The prisoners were then transported to various federal prisons in the Mexico City area and the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Archives:Pope Francis speaks of mercy at Juárez prison
The transferred prisoners were serving sentences for crimes such as homicide, organized crime, kidnapping and firearms violations, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office said.
The transferring of inmates to other prisons is sometimes done as an attempt to break up the power of prison gangs at certain facilities.
Cereso is an acronym for Centro de Readaptación Social, or Center for Social Re-adaptation. The Chihuahua state-run prison houses about 3,900 inmates.
El Paso Times
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