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Two die as inmates storm out of Mexico jail

08 Dec 2006 21:29:36 GMT
Source: Reuters

CANCUN, Mexico, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Dozens of prisoners in a jail near the resort city of Cancun smashed padlocks on their cell doors, punched guards and escaped on Friday in a riot that left at least two dead, local officials said.

Hundreds of inmates at the jail in the southern state of Quintana Roo began protesting after police transferred some 40 prisoners, including Marcos Adelaido Gallegos, a prison leader known as "The Godfather," to a different jail near the state capital Chetumal.

"The situation is now under control. We have two people dead, one seriously injured and another 23 hurt who were detained by the police," Benito Juarez Mayor Francisco Alor Quezada told Mexican radio. The prison is in the municipality of Benito Juarez, as is the beach city of Cancun.

He said some 85 prisoners escaped, and that 17 were still being sought.

A source at the Quintana Roo public security department said around 50 inmates escaped in the confusion.

During the riot, some inmates destroyed their cell door padlocks, attacked the prison staff and rushed en masse toward the jail entrance.

Some fled and other inmates sporting balaclavas or bandannas and waving sticks protested on the prison roof. One banner read: "We want the Godfather. Out with the director."

"Everything started with an apparent opposition among the prisoners to the transfer of other inmates to another jail," a source at the state prosector's office told Reuters.

Gallegos, a convicted rapist, was liked by prisoners because he helped keep order inside the jail.

Police were still trying to retake control of the jail, home to some 1,025 inmates and situated just 5 miles (8 km) from Cancun's sandy beaches, popular with foreign tourists.

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Last updated:Fri Dec 8 21:31:02 2006