Mexico prisoners in mass jail break in Nuevo Laredo
LONDON. July 16. KAZINFORM Seven prisoners have been killed and 59 others have escaped after a riot at a jail in northern Mexico near the US border, officials say.
According to BBC News, five guards are also missing and are believed to have aided the mass prison breakout in Nuevo Laredo town.
Mexican police say the majority of those on the run are drug traffickers and members of armed gangs.
The prison system is struggling to cope with an influx of offenders arrested in a campaign against drugs cartels.
Correspondents say prison breakouts are not uncommon in northern Mexico, where more than 400 inmates have escaped since January 2010.
Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state, lies just across the border from Laredo, Texas.
The largest jail break so far was last December when more than 140 prisoners escaped from the same prison.
According to a statement from the Tamaulipas state government, the riot began on Friday morning in Nuevo Laredo's Sanctions Enforcement Centre, which houses an estimated 1,200 prisoners.
Details at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14171461