Sixteen inmates were killed and five wounded in a prison fight in the northern Mexican state of Zacatecas, authorities said, in one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the country’s penal system since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took power.
16 KILLED, 5 WOUNDED
The fight broke out Tuesday afternoon at the Regional Center for Social Reintegration in the town of Cieneguillas, located on the western flank of state capital Zacatecas, the state government said.
The government has launched an investigation to determine those responsible for the incident and how the weapons entered the prison.
In a press conference Wednesday evening, state Public Security Minister Ismael Camberos said all prison staff working during the fight and on the previous shift would be investigated. The five wounded inmates are in stable condition, Camberos said in the interview.