Government blames deserters for breakout
The government reckons that a gang of killers, known as `Los Zetas', was behind the storming of a jail and release of 25 prisoners early on the morning of 5 January. The deputy attorney-general, responsible for investigating organised crime, said that the stunt was designed to free five prisoners, who were all members of Los Zetas. The other people who escaped from the jail in Michoacán simply took advantage of the opportunity they were offered.
The Los Zetas gang is made up of ex-soldiers, mostly deserters, and does, apparently, a lot of the dirty work for one of the main drug-smuggling gangs, the Cartel del Golfo. This is run by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who is himself in jail.
The breakout was probably organised by Cárdenas's number two, Carlos González Mendoza, and involved between 20 and 40 heavily armed, uniformed men. They turned up at the front entrance of the jail and said that they were conducting a spot check. When they were inside they forced the guards, who numbered only 20, to release the five convicted Los Zetas killers. Another 20 prisoners also escaped in the mayhem; four have been recaptured or have given themselves up, and one was killed during the escape.
On 7 January the authorities picked up 25 soldiers and took them into preventative custody. These soldiers had been on duty in the 43rd Military Zone in which the prison lies. Although Mexican soldiers do not guard prisons, they do take part in sweeps against drug trafficking.
The Los Zetas gang is made up of ex-soldiers, mostly deserters, and does, apparently, a lot of the dirty work for one of the main drug-smuggling gangs, the Cartel del Golfo. This is run by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who is himself in jail.
The breakout was probably organised by Cárdenas's number two, Carlos González Mendoza, and involved between 20 and 40 heavily armed, uniformed men. They turned up at the front entrance of the jail and said that they were conducting a spot check. When they were inside they forced the guards, who numbered only 20, to release the five convicted Los Zetas killers. Another 20 prisoners also escaped in the mayhem; four have been recaptured or have given themselves up, and one was killed during the escape.
On 7 January the authorities picked up 25 soldiers and took them into preventative custody. These soldiers had been on duty in the 43rd Military Zone in which the prison lies. Although Mexican soldiers do not guard prisons, they do take part in sweeps against drug trafficking.