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Inmates escape in Mexico jailbreak

18 December 2010 21:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least 140 inmates have escaped from a state prison in the northern Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, near the border with the US state of Texas, APA reports quoting aljazeera.net website.
Police said the prisoners easily but slowly filed out of the jailâ€™s main entrance with the complicity of prison guards on Saturday.
"From preliminary investigations, we know that the inmates left by the service vehicle area and were allegedly helped by the penitentiary centre staff," Antonio Garza, a local security chief, said.
"The staff of this prison is at the General Attorneyâ€™s office disposal and and they have betrayed the state government."
Placing the blame
Mexicoâ€™s interior ministry has blamed the escape on local authorities, saying they did not properly guard the facility.
The head of the stateâ€™s jail system has been suspended following the incident.
It is the countryâ€™s biggest jailbreak since the government began its war on drugs four years ago.
It is not clear who orchestrated the escape, but police sources say a Gulf of Mexico cartel may have offered to free gang allies on condition that they switch sides.
In July, authorities found out that prison officials in a northwestern state had allowed convicts to escape for the night to carry out revenge attacks.