Gang violence: Mexican prison riot leaves 40 dead

MONTERREY: At least 40 inmates were killed in a Mexico jail riot, officials said Sunday. The deaths occurred after clashes broke out overnight between rival gangs at Apodoca prison, some 30 kilometers from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. Officials said the unrest broke out early Sunday in wings of the prison that had been holding 300 inmates. The complex overall holds some 3,000 inmates -- double its official capacity of 1,500. Riots are common in Mexico’s notoriously overcrowded prisons. It was the second deadly such brawl in recent months near Monterrey after seven inmates died and 12 were injured in a clash in October at Cadereyta prison. Monterrey, an industrial hub and Mexico’s third largest city, has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months blamed on fighting between the brutal Zetas drug gang and their former employers, the Gulf cartel. Members of both groups are in Apodoca prison.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.