Thread: Prisoners are rioting state penitentiary city of Tijuana

©2008 Google - Map data ©2008 LeadDog Consulting, NAVTEQ™ - Terms of UsePrisoners riot in Mexican border city of Tijuana
2 hours ago

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Prisoners are rioting at a state penitentiary in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.

Red Cross official Fernando Esquer says at least four prisoners are injured with bullet wounds and have been evacuated for treatment.

The riot began Sunday afternoon and quickly escalated. A fire raged on the patio and prisoners have hung messages from the prison's roof and windows. Several messages claim guards have killed at least two prisoners in the past week or so.

Soldiers and police surrounded the building, and a helicopter clattered overhead. Family members trying to find out information on those inside have clashed at least twice with police.

Prison authorities have refused
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jHCg ... QD936R64O0

Prisoners riot in Mexican border city of Tijuana

The Associated Press
Monday, September 15, 2008
TIJUANA, Mexico: Prisoners angered by the alleged deaths of inmates at the hands of guards rioted Sunday at a state penitentiary in this Mexican border city, injuring at least four prisoners.

The four suffered bullet wounds and were evacuated for treatment, Red Cross official Fernando Esquer said. It was unclear who shot them.

The riot began Sunday afternoon and quickly escalated.

Prison authorities have refused to give any information, and it was unclear how much of the compound was under the prisoners' control.

A fire raged on the patio as evening fell, and inmates hung messages and shouted slogans from the prison's roof and windows. Some also waved Mexican flags.

Several messages claimed that prison guards had killed at least two prisoners, beating one man to death on Saturday and killing the other last week.

"No more dead," one banner read. "The guards are assassins."

Prisoners also said that four people had been killed in the riot and they were holding several guards hostage, but officials refused to comment.

The rioting prisoners said they want longer visiting hours and the ability to see people who aren't direct family.

Soldiers and police surrounded the building, and a helicopter clattered overhead. Family members trying to find out information on those inside gathered at police cordons and clashed at least twice with security officials.

Local police as well as soldiers were sent in to help restore order.

The riot began during visiting hours, and prisoners said several visitors were in the prison compound but were not being held hostage and had been fed.

www.iht.com

Prison riot in Mexico border city kills 19
Thu Sep 18, 2008 4:55am EDT


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Nineteen prisoners were killed and a dozen wounded in the second riot in less than a week at a jail in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, local officials said on Thursday.

"Up to the last count, there are 19 dead and 12 wounded," Daniel de la Rosa, Baja California's state police chief, said in a televised news conference following the riot on Wednesday at one of Tijuana's main jails.

Authorities have regained control of the prison and transferred 200 dangerous inmates to other facilities, Baja California Gov. Jose Osuna said at the news conference.

On Sunday, four prisoners were killed and a large part of the same jail destroyed in a clash between guards and inmates.

Family members of inmates housed in the overcrowded jail had complained of prisoner abuse and local media said the death of an inmate could have sparked the violence.

Tijuana, just south of San Diego, is a major corridor for drug trafficking and has seen violence soar in recent months even as President Felipe Calderon deployed thousands of troops to the city and across the country to crack down on warring cartels.

More than 2,700 people have been killed in drug violence this year in Mexico.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Eric Beech)

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNew ... 3320080918