Mexico Prison Fight: 31 Killed In Altamira

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — A vicious fight among inmates armed with makeshift knives, clubs and even stones left 31 people dead in a prison in a drug cartel-plagued state in northern Mexico, authorities said.

Another 13 prisoners were wounded in the brawl in the penitentiary in the Gulf Coast city of Altamira, Tamaulipas state's Public Safety Department said in a statement.

The fight started when a group of inmates burst into a section of the prison they were banned from and attacked the prisoners housed there, the department said.

Local media said the fight was between members of the rival Gulf and Zetas drug cartels but authorities wouldn't confirm the reports. Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the two former allies.

Tamaulipas state officials said many of the dead were killed by makeshift knives. A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said several of the inmates were beaten to death with clubs or stones.

Soldier and marines managed to take control of the prison, the official said.

The safety department said 22 of the inmates killed were serving sentences for state crimes and nine for federal offenses. It gave no other details.

The port of Altamira in southern Tamaulipas, near the border with the state of Veracruz, is in a region that has seen a spike in drug-violence in the last two months. Authorities say the port is used to bring in cocaine and precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine into Mexico.

In 2010, four inmates at the Altamira prison were killed when an armed gang stormed the penitentiary as 11 inmates were being transferred. Authorities did not confirm reports that the raid was an attempt to free prisoners. Gang raids on prisons are common in Tamaulipas.

Comments

[rodneyvgt]

08:47 AM on 01/06/2012

sounds like there is room for new inmates

[Deos]

03:33 AM on 01/06/2012

that's a cleanup.

[jlkitts]

09:46 PM on 01/05/2012

tell me again about drugs being a victimless crime ?

[eric14]

07:00 AM on 01/06/2012

Trafficking of ILLEGAL drugs is the crime. If they are not illegal, there is no trafficking.

[bebarchick]

07:41 PM on 01/05/2012

Sounds like a typical weekend in Tijuana these days.

[lokiesteve]

06:50 PM on 01/05/2012

What an extreme way to combat prison over crowding. I wonder if the guards just let them tire themselves out before making a show of stopping it.

[Mark Weidenfeller]

04:06 PM on 01/05/2012

31 less mutations to worry about.

[fworfe]

03:16 PM on 01/05/2012

Same old story.
We, the well-intended citizens of the world passed laws that made narcotics illegal.
Which skyrocketed the price of drugs, which made production, smuggling and sale so profitable that cartels started killing each other and anyone else in sight.
Which further raised prices, which further glamorized the use of drugs, which spurred more production and more corruption of humankind at all levels and occupations.
Meantime, no politician seems to have the gumption to think rationally about it, let alone speak out or do anything about repealing drug laws so that personal responsibility reigns as it should.
The main and simple point here is that these drug laws not only don't work as expected, they do just the opposite.
Let's repeal these laws (except for minor involvement) and let adults overdose and die when and however they choose. After all, it's their inalienable right to do so.
And incidentally, drug prices will plummet overnight. Dealers will go to work or starve. The money saved on enforcement that doesn't work can be used for rehab for those who want it.
Think about it!

[bebarchick]

07:53 PM on 01/05/2012

Totally agree. There's evidence that drug task forces in counties actually contribute to an increase in drug sales. When I worked with the "justice" system, someone caught with a minor amount of drugs was threatened to be placed in jail for years unless they cooperated with the drug task force. So in lieu of prison they would buy or sell drugs to their friends and others who in turn would be busted and placed in the same position. So 10-15 people who never had any intention of selling drugs were now out there selling. When the "big" channel 12 drug bust would finally occur, they would round up 30-40 people in a drug sweep. Interestingly, most were hauled out of trailer parks and back alleys, wearing stained tee shirts, driving old Pintos. The point is, 99% of the drug busts are manipulated by the system and for the system. So the jails of overcrowded, the system makes millions building prisons and paying jail guards who smoke weed on weekends. The D.A. becomes the next judge and good ol' law and order prevails.

[Rexter]

03:07 PM on 01/05/2012

31 a day is start! They shouldn't separate these groups in the prisons so they can eliminate each other entirely. That would save everyone alot of money and alot of grief. If the Mexican model works that well we need to institute the program in U.S. prisons and clean them out as well.

We need to make prisons a place where no one ever wants to go, and if they have been there, they never want to return. As it is now, it doesn't seem to deter these thugs at all.

[sks504]

02:54 PM on 01/05/2012

I wondered where the OWS convention was being held.

[sks504]

02:03 PM on 01/05/2012

Now the left will be wanting permits for stones and sticks.

[cittidude2]

03:32 PM on 01/05/2012

And then after that names that wont hurt anyone! Sheesh!

[jlkitts]

09:45 PM on 01/05/2012

they'll want permits for that, too...but won't implement until after the elections so they are exempt.

[NoQuarter472]

01:23 PM on 01/05/2012

The Mexicans know how to correct and balance a budget.

[shellyq1]

01:06 PM on 01/05/2012

It's really sad that people are prepared to risk their lives or kill for drugs.

[jlplummer1]

12:42 PM on 01/05/2012

Mexico was a nice place, Blood sacrifices to the Gods etc. until the Spanish came, they showed them how to really enslave and massacre without Religious rites.

[treabeton]

08:01 PM on 01/05/2012

Didn't the Spanish bring Catholicism? And its rites?

[jlkitts]

09:46 PM on 01/05/2012

yeah, but unlike other places, they didn;t adopt those particular local customs.

[Stavo]

12:09 PM on 01/05/2012

Well.,.....if they keep killing each other down there in old Mexico....there won't be a whole lot of folks left. Personally, civil war in that country is on the way, if it hasn't already started. To bad....used to be such a great country and for the most part, the people were super. To bad indeed. If it is all about keeping the US supplied with drugs.....then maybe the US should start dropping hardcore drug users, where ever they find them. The world beyond this world, needs drug users to....so send them there.

[jlplummer1]

12:04 PM on 01/05/2012

How about that,.... "self-cleansing" while in jail. Should separate the two groups in the prison yard, issue them with clubs and let them go at each other, The losers get freed by death and the winners get executed for killing the losers...Televise it, like they used to on Bull fights with the killing of the Bull. After all, Mexico, this is where the losing team gets put to death in the festive games of the Aztecs or Myans, right....nothings changed there.