Mexico prison riot leaves 10 dead and 16 inmates injured

A riot broke out at a prison in Mazatlan (Mazatlán), in Mexico’s Sinaloa state. The state’s Public Security Secretariat said the incident occurred during visiting hours.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that nine inmates and a close relative of an inmate were killed in the clash.

Sixteen inmates were taken to hospital with injuries of varying severity. Their treatment is ongoing.

Local media reported that inmates used firearms during the riot. Mexico’s Federal Security Cabinet said National Guard forces had been deployed to the site and that the situation at the penitentiary, which holds 1,800 people, was fully under control.

Overcrowding and power struggles among drug cartels have contributed to recurring incidents of violence in Mexican prisons.