Mexico: 20 dead in Matamoros prison riot

At least 20 inmates were killed and 12 injured in rioting Oct. 15 at a prison in the violence-torn Mexican border city of Matamoros. The Tamaulipas state Public Security Secretariat said fighting broke out between two inmates at the Execution and Sanction Center (CEDES),* and soon dozens more from rival gangs piled on. Federal and state police as well as army troops were brought in to help guards restore control of the facility. News footage showed helicopters hovering over the prison's gray watchtower. (LAT, El Universal, Oct. 16)

* The name refers to the "execution" of justice, not of prisoners; Mexico does not have the death penalty.

See our last posts on Mexico and the narco wars.

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