Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Forensic investigators work an area where a burned-out car was found after a gang rammed several vehicles into a prison and escaped with nine inmates, in Tula, Mexico Ginnette Riquelme via PA Images

Nine inmates escape after gang rams vehicles into Mexican prison

Authorities said the pre-dawn attack resulted in gunshot wounds to two police officers.

A GANG HAS rammed several vehicles into a prison in central Mexico and escaped with nine inmates in one of the most dramatic breakouts the country has seen in years.

Authorities in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City, said the pre-dawn attack resulted in gunshot wounds to two police officers.

State police said soldiers, police and National Guard troops fanned out looking for the escaped inmates. Police did not identify the armed gang involved in the prison break.

The state’s interior secretary, Simon Vargas, said “an armed group burst into the prison aboard several vehicles, and it is worth noting that near the prison, two vehicles were burned as part of the criminal group’s operation, as a distraction”.

Local media reported that the burned-out cars found in the city of Tula after the attack were car bombs. Authorities said they were investigating how the vehicles caught fire.

The use of car bombs by gangs in Mexico has been extremely rare, with one attack in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez in 2010 killing three people.

Gangs in Mexico frequently torch vehicles to distract police, and vehicles set alight can explode once the flames reach their fuel tanks.

Tula is home to a large oil refinery and the area has been plagued by gangs of thieves who drill illegal taps into government-owned pipelines to extract petrol and diesel.

It was unclear if any fuel thieves were among the escaped inmates. Authorities said the escapees had faced charges of homicide and kidnapping, among others.

State prosecutor Alejandro Habib said a large number of people took part in the apparently highly planned attack.

Mexico has seen some spectacular prison escapes in the past.

In 2015, imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped through a mile-long tunnel on a specially modified motorcycle that ran on steel rails.

He was later recaptured, extradited and is serving a prison term in the US.

In 2012, more than 130 inmates escaped a border town prison in Piedras Negras through a tunnel.

In 2010 in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, 141 inmates got out through a prison service entrance used by vehicles, presumably with the assistance of staff.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

View 7 comments
Close
7 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Roger Bond
    Favourite Roger Bond
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 8:13 AM

    Poland were correct to make a stand.
    Hopefully other countries will follow.

    401
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Calvin James
    Favourite Calvin James
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 10:43 AM

    @Roger Bond:
    If an asylum seeker arrives at a border they have the right to apply for asylum there. Sticking them on a plane to Iraq is a pushback which is breaking international law

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Murphy
    Favourite Mick Murphy
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 11:26 AM

    @Calvin James: absolutely! They could seek asylum in Belarus. If that isn’t good enough then they’re not really that bothered about getting out of Iraq but more concerned with getting into EU which is completely against the spirit of asylum.

    154
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Tobin
    Favourite Mick Tobin
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 11:27 AM

    @Calvin James: That doesn’t apply at the border but within, and the plane wasn’t in Poland but in Belarus.

    45
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John fitzpatrick
    Favourite John fitzpatrick
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 10:31 AM

    Why don’t migrants go to a extremely rich Middle East countries with the same culture.
    With not as far to travel.

    186
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Roy Dowling
    Favourite Roy Dowling
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 7:58 AM

    If the western countries minded their own business and didn’t intefere with middle Eastern countries this wouldn’t happen.

    112
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Zack Twamley
    Favourite Zack Twamley
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 8:18 AM

    @Roy Dowling: what does that have to do with the Polish Belarusian border?

    159
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bugaloo
    Favourite Bugaloo
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 8:32 AM

    @Zack Twamley: Even our cat understood what Roy said, and we don’t even have a cat.

    85
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Colin Keogh
    Favourite Colin Keogh
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 9:08 AM

    @Bugaloo: lmao

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Crypto_Dav
    Favourite Crypto_Dav
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 8:40 AM

    What the hel middle East people are doing between Belarus Poland border? Is it a coup from Belarus or Russian??? Come on wake up people!?we have mass migration en route to Europe

    160
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute RZ
    Favourite RZ
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 9:57 AM

    @Crypto_Dav: They have been lured by regime-organised fake advertisement campaigns offering to work in the EU. These people are not even refugees, just poor and desperate families.

    72
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rafal Kostrz
    Favourite Rafal Kostrz
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 8:10 AM

    Roy Dowling 100 % agree

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute andrew
    Favourite andrew
    Report
    Nov 19th 2021, 5:26 PM

    Back in their homes countries we can add Belarus to Greece, Spain, Lampedusa and Calais when it comes to migrant entry points into Europe.

    10
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds