3 dead in riot at Tijuana prison

A riot at Tijuana's notorious La Mesa State Penitentiary has left three inmates dead and 25 people injured as prisoners threw rocks and set fires to protest alleged police brutality, according to Baja California state authorities.

The riot broke out Sunday afternoon, a day after a 19-year-old inmate died while guards searched cells for drugs and weapons. Inmates took control of the sprawling prison, which has a history of uprisings.

Although authorities have established more order in the penitentiary once known for its open-air drug market, prostitutes and eateries, critics say the prison remains dangerously overcrowded. It has about 8,000 inmates, reports Richard Marosi.

Click here to continue reading about the prison riot and here for more on Tijuana.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Image: Friends and family look up at inmates who took over La Mesa State Penitentiary on Sunday. Hundreds of officers later stormed the prison and retook control. Guillermo Arias / Associated Press

Comments

[on the streets]

im afraid to report that the u.s. news here as well as the general mexican population are being fed propaganda by the state run mexican media. they are not reporting the real truth. i live in san diego, ca and i have many friends who live in tijuana and all these mexican border towns. my friends have informed me, some by first person eye witness accounts that over 200 people have been killed in these riots. in fact 1 person has said that a helicopter at one point was hovering over the prison firing hundreds of rounds at anything that moved. there have been reports around tj, most of them surpressed, that officials have been seen in the mountainous areas between otay mesa and tecate dumping numerous bodies in large mass human graves. i promise you that the people on the ground there in mexico are reporting a far different story then the one we are told.
oh and the riots began because an inmate was killed by two guards. the guards tied the inmates arms behind his back, covered his head with a potato sack like object and then drowned him to death. the inmates retaliated by throwing blankets that were just lit on fire and throwing them on the guards which led to the guards burning to death. as far as the families who are still awaiting word on their loved ones i am sorry to say that you are looking at real bad news, and these mass graves are the spots to begin the search.

[Eliseo Saldivar]

Until the international community recognizes and admits the corruption that goes on at these institutions, they will prevail. We think it does not affect or concerns us. But we complain when it spills across the border. We have to understand they are our neighbor. I don't know about most people, but when my neighbor is in trouble, or anybody for that matter, I try to help.