Feed: Mexico’s “great escape” of prison inmates an inside job - AggScore: 12.8

Mexico’s “great escape” of prison inmates an inside job

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caption id alignalignleft width210 caption The Mexican drug gangs have divided their country as if a quasishadow government. Photo Stratfor.com img srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehash628a628a217957794396ebb7d7289f2424e4.jpg alt The Mexican drug gangs have divided their country as if a quasishadow government. Photo Stratfor.com width210 height163 captionMore than140convicts escaped from a prison in the northern Mexico border city of Nuevo Laredo on Fridayallegedly with the helpof prison guards.The prison is located near the border with Laredo, Texas, and 141 inmates got out through a service entrance used by vehicles, presumably with the assistance of the prison staff. U.S. Border Patrol agents were alerted that many of the escaped convicts may attempt to enter the United States.Mexican officialssaid the prisonswarden and otherprison authoritiesare nowunder investigation in an attempt to prevent future escapes by dangerous criminals.According to Texas law enforcement sources,83 of the prisoners were being held for trial or had been convicted of crimes such astheft, assault and other state offenses, while 58 were being held on federal charges, which include weapons possession and drug trafficking. A number of the escaped prisoners are tied to the drug cartels that have plagued northern Mexico.Tamaulipas is the central battlefieldin the gang war between the Gulf and Zetas drug organizations and between these gangs and Mexican police and military personnel.Tamaulipas government officials have complainedin the past thatthey are not capable ofhandling a prison population that includes dangerous federal prisoners. On Friday state government officialsurged the federal government to take custodyof such inmates..Federal political leaderscalled on state authoritiesrehabilitatetheir prison and judicial systemswith increasedscrutiny of those being hired ascorrections officers. According to a police officer from a U.S. border city, Mexican prison guards are illtrained, underpaidand fearful of the deadly Mexican organized crime gangs.Federal police and soldiers were dispatched to patrol the area, and a search for escaped prisonerscontinues.A new guard recruitment program, supported in part by the U.S. government, includes increased training, screening and vetting of guards.