Following a prison brawl between members of two rival cartels that resulted in a riot and shootouts that left 11 people dead, the majority of them civilians, authorities in Mexico dispatched hundreds of soldiers to the border city of Juarez on Friday.
Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s infamous Sinaloa Cartel affiliates Los Chapos and the neighbourhood gang Los Mexicles fought each other in a prison on Thursday afternoon, according to deputy security minister Ricardo Mejia.
Mejia and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were speaking at a routine news conference when a riot broke out, leaving two people dead from gunfire and four others wounded. He claimed that 16 more people were hurt during the fighting.
Officials remained mum on the incident’s origin.
Authorities claim that the Mexicles went on a killing spree in the city after the riot, killing nine civilians. Four of them, including one announcer, worked for a radio station, according to Mejia.
Convenience stores on the other side of town were shot at and set on fire. A woman who was applying for a job was killed in the violence, according to a statement from FEMSA, the parent company of the Oxxo chain.
Post Your Comments