Members of the Mexican Army guard the Cereso 3 prison, as authorities transfer inmates from the Cereso 3 prison in Ciudad Juarez to other prisons in the country following the Sunday morning attack where a cartel kingpin escaped along with two dozen other prisoners, according to a police statement, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 3, 2023. REUTERS
MEXICO CITY/CIUDAD JUAREZ 鈥� Mexico鈥檚 defense ministry said on Tuesday it had flown 200 military personnel to the northern border city of Juarez to fight organized crime there, days after a deadly prison riot led to a manhunt for escaped convicts.
Authorities also sacked the director of the prison, from which at least 30 inmates escaped, they said Tuesday.
State prosecutors in the border state of Chihuahua said Alejandro Alvarado, head of the Juarez prison, had been dismissed, and is also under investigation for his possible role in the jailbreak, alongside others.
On Sunday, 19 people died after gunmen attacked the prison a few miles south of El Paso, Texas, killing guards and inmates and triggering a mass escape that included cartel kingpin Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, also known as 鈥淓l Neto.鈥�
Federal authorities arrived to restore order, later finding a 鈥淰IP zone鈥� in the state-run prison with drugs and money.
Prisoners鈥� relatives queued outside the prison on Tuesday, some asking to speak to authorities.
Maria Luisa Pena, an inmate鈥檚 aunt, told Reuters authorities had yet to give her information about her nephew鈥檚 situation.
鈥淲e鈥檙e worried,鈥� she said, 鈥淲e want to know what鈥檚 happening with our relatives, we want them to tell us something.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e all humans, aren鈥檛 we? We all make mistakes. Now many of us want the opportunity to know what鈥檚 happening with our relatives,鈥� added an inmate鈥檚 wife, who was not identified.
On Monday night, Chihuahua鈥檚 government said seven people had died during subsequent police clashes as part of the hunt to find the escaped inmates. Two of the dead were police.
Sunday鈥檚 incident resulted in one of the highest death tolls from prison violence in Mexico in recent years.
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