Monterrey: At least 38 inmates have
been killed in a riot at a prison near the northern Mexican
city of Monterrey, officials said on Sunday.
The clashes broke out overnight between rival gangs at
Apodoca prison, some 30 kilometres from Monterrey.
Families were gathering outside the institution, awaiting
news of their loved ones.
"So far we have counted 38 dead," Jorge Domene, a
spokesman for the state corrections` system, said to a news agency adding
that the situation inside the prison was now calm and that
forensic teams were working to identify the bodies.
Riots are common in Mexico`s notoriously overcrowded
prisons. It was the second deadly such brawl in recent months
near Monterrey after seven inmates died and 12 were injured in
a clash in October at Cadereyta prison.
Monterrey, an industrial hub and Mexico`s third largest
city, has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months blamed
on fighting between the brutal Zetas drug gang and their
former employers, the Gulf cartel. Members of both groups are
in Apodoca prison.
The deadly riots come just days after a horrific blaze at
a Honduran prison left 359 inmates dead and shone a spotlight
on Latin America`s overcrowded penitentiaries.
PTI
