The massacre of 44 inmates in the Apodaca prison near Monterrey is the deadliest incident of its kind in recent years. It began around 2am Sunday when a group of prisoners affiliated with the Zetas criminal organization gained access to alleged Gulf Cartel rivals housed in a separate unit. After the mass killing, which lasted for hours and left no survivors, the thirty perpetrators simply exited the prison.
(Press conference clip, reporter interprets)
Nuevo León governor Rodrigo Medina said the incident was premeditated and involved the complicity of some prison authorities. Eighteen guards and four corrections officials are under investigation.
Last May, 14 inmates were killed in a similar attack in this same prison. Less than two months ago, 31 prisoners were slaughtered in Altamira, Tamaulipas; the first massacre registered in Mexico this year.
[This report aired on the February 20, 2012 broadcast of FSRN]