Horrifying photos have emerged showing what happened when a Mexican prison riot broke out, as prisoners took the guards hostage and murdered six of their fellow inmates.
The riot took place in the prison of Atlacholoaya, in the central Mexican state of Morelos, when a confrontation between rival gangs saw the national guard, federal and state police enter the facility after an unspecified number of prison guards were taken hostage.
Among the dead prisoners was a leader of one of Mexico’s biggest cartels.
Local media report six prisoners were killed in the riot, among them Raymundo Isidro, alias El Ray, who is considered the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion in Morelo.
He had been arrested on May 7 and was reported to being involved in a shooting at a restaurant which took place on April 16, where six people were killed, including three children, in Cuautla, also in the state of Morelos.
A video shows dozens of prisoners gathered during the riot as guards can be seen running away:
The other victims were identified as Jose Manuel, Roberto, Lorenzo, Vicente and Nestor, who were also pronounced dead, while the two injured prisoners were named as Leopoldo and Adalberto.
Another clip shows relatives of inmates demanding information from cops outside the prison:
Uriel Carmona, the prosecutor of the state, said that the inmates died due to the use of blades and denied firearms were used. To this day it is unclear who killed the victims.
Authorities sent 115 officers of the national guard, and 120 agents from the secretary of national defence to help restore order while two helicopters were also used in the operation. The prison guards were eventually released after four hours.
Pablo Ojeda, the Secretary of Government of Morelos, said that a day before the riot another fight had taken place between inmates over stolen shoes. One inmate was killed and a further two injured in the fight, meaning seven prisoners were killed in the prison in 24 hours.
There are no updates on the condition of the injured inmates at this stage.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.