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Dozens of inmates killed in gang fight in Mexican jail Dozens of inmates killed in gang fight in Mexican jail
(about 2 hours later)
At least 38 people have died in a prison riot in northern Mexico. At least 44 people have died in a prison fight in northern Mexico.
Security officials said the inmates had either forced or bribed a number of guards to open the doors between two separate wings of the jail. Security officials said members of rival drug cartels confronted each other with stones and home-made weapons in the jail north of the city of Monterrey.
A fight broke out between the prisoners, in which the killings occurred. Some victims were strangled.
Deadly prison fights between rival gangs are not uncommon in Mexico: last month 31 inmates were killed in similar circumstances in Tamaulipas state. An investigation is under way to establish if some of the prison guards colluded in the fight by unlocking the doors separating two wings of the prison.
Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said inmates at the Apodaca prison had also set fire to mattresses and other flammable objects. Deadly fights between rival gangs are not uncommon in Mexico's notoriously overcrowded and corrupt prison system.
"Until now, we have counted 38 dead," he said. Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said the fight was sparked by the bitter rivalry between the Gulf cartel and the Zetas drug gang.
Mr Domene said investigations were under way to establish the causes behind the fight, but that so far the evidence pointed towards a confrontation between rival gangs. The two groups are fighting a brutal war for control of the drug smuggling routes to the United States.
He said the security forces were now in control of the situation. That violent rivalry is mirrored in the region's prisons, where rival gang members live cheek-by-jowl.
Relatives of the prisoners have gathered outside the prison, north of the city of Monterrey, to find out news about who has been killed and injured. Anxious wait
"We've confirmed 44 dead, all from the prison's "D" wing, Prison Director Gilberto Cesena said.
The number of those injured in the fight, which started at 02:00 local time, has not yet been given.
Mr Cesena said the security forces were now in control of the situation.
Relatives of the prisoners have gathered outside the jail to find out news about who has been killed and injured.
Mr Domene asked them to be patient.Mr Domene asked them to be patient.
"We have more than 3,000 inmates in this jail and we have to account for all of them first," he said. "We have more than 3,000 inmates in this penitentiary and we have to account for all of them first," he said.
Mexican jails are notorious for overcrowding, corruption and rioting. The prison was built to hold around 1,500 inmates. Mexican jails are notorious for overcrowding, corruption and rioting.
In January, 31 inmates were killed at a prison in Altamira, in Tamaulipas state, when rival gangs confronted each other with homemade weapons and knives.In January, 31 inmates were killed at a prison in Altamira, in Tamaulipas state, when rival gangs confronted each other with homemade weapons and knives.