4 inmates die in Nuevo Laredo

A total of four prison inmates have been killed in two separate brawls in Nuevo Laredo, according to official government reports.

Accoridng to an online announcement by the Tamaulipas state Secretaria de Seguridad Publica,  Conrado Eliezer Gonzalez Gutierrez, 30, and  Mario Antonio Garcia Rodriguez, 28, were killed in a brawl at Nuevo Laredo's Centro de Ejecucion de Sanciones (CEDES) Wednesday morning.

The incident took place at around 1148 hrs in the observation area of module one.  Two inmates, Esteban Lugo Cruz, 34, and Paul Zamarripa Guerrero, 38, are accused of involvement with the deaths. The victims entered the  Nuevo Laredo CEDES last June on kidnapping charges.

The second incident took place at 1600 hrs in the washroom of the work area where Zamarron Jose Eduardo Santos, 23, and Jesus Martin Isaiah Alonso Cervantes, 19,  were stabbed to death.  Two inmates identified as Javier Esteban Pardave Lomax, 34, and Pedro Bernabe Hernandez, 24 were allegedly involved in the deaths.

The victims in the second incident entered prison earlier in the month for auto theft.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for rantburg.com and Borderlandbeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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24 die in Durango in failed prison escape

SECOND UPDATE: The Durango State Secretaria de Seguridad Publica del Estado (SSPE) reports 24 total died in the prison escape attempt.  El Siglo de Durango news daily has a video.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 15 inmates and nine trustees were shot to death in a failed escape attempt in a prison in far eastern Durango state Tuesday, according to Mexican news and Twitter reports.

According to a news item posted on the website of Milenio news daily, the shooting and escape attempt took palce at the Centro de Readaptacion Social Number Two (CERESO) in Gomez Palacio, Durango at around 1700 hrs.

According to the news item, an alert was issued about a prison riot.  Gunfire was exchanged between criminal group and prison guards as inmates attempted to jump a back fence. Guards were fired on prompting return fire which killed nine prison trustees and 15 inmates.

A Mexican Army element was nearby which assisted in retaking control of the prison.

A dispatch which appeared on the website of Animal Politico Tuesday evening noted that the prison itself had been inspected by an unit of the Policia Federal as part of Laguna Seguro security operation, starting Sunday night and ending Monday morning. The raid found several contraband items including shanks cell phones and other items. The search was initiated at the request of Mexico's Comision Nacional Derechos Humanos (CNDH), or human rights commission.

Durango's CERESO Number Two was the prison where in 2010 prison officials colluded with inmates to stage armed attacks outside the prison on facilities operated by Los Zetas drug cartel.  Included in those attacks was the infamous attack on a party at Quinta Italia in Torreon in Coahuila just across the border with Durango, which killed 17 party goers.

The group  was also responsible for at least two other attacks in the La Laguna area which killed at last 16 individuals .

La Laguna encompasses Torreon, Coahuila, Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo in Durango. Laguna Seguro ended less than three weeks ago in the area, but Durango state has begun operating a separate security operation in Gomez Palacio, in cooperation with the Mexican Army, and now, apparently the Policia Federal, now a sub agency of the Mexican national Secretaria de Gobierno, or interior ministry.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

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