Cieneguillas prison riots
Prison riots
Two prison riots occurred at the Cieneguillas Regional Center for Social Reintegration in Cieneguillas, Zacatecas, Mexico. The first was on 31 December 2019, and the second on 2 January 2020. Sixteen inmates were killed on 31 December, and another inmate was killed on 2 January.
Background
The Cieneguillas prison is a medium-security center. During the 2010s, inmates linked with various cartels, including Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel, were added to the prison. The prison became dangerous and failed several assessments due to the introduction of the cartel inmates, with the last assessment before the riots deeming it to have a lack of governance and an undermined security. The prison is sectioned so that members of different organizations, and those unaffiliated, are separated. However, when reporters from El Universal visited in 2019, authorities reported a lack of infrastructure to operate the prison optimally.
In 2009, the prison was the location of a high-profile escape that freed 53 inmates; a state official, speaking in 2019, said that steps had been taken to improve security after that event. There was also a plan to cause a riot on New Year's Eve in 2018, to allow another escape, but this was uncovered and prevented.
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