14 Dead, Including 10 Prison Guards, After Armed Attack on Mexican Prison Near US Border

Members of the Mexican Army secure an area outside the prison of Ciudad Juarez number 3 after an attack on the prison left 14 people dead and allowed 24 inmates to escape on Jan. 1, 2023. Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images

Fourteen people have been killed, and dozens more injured after gunmen in armored vehicles attacked a state prison in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, which sits across the border from El Paso, Texas, on New Year’s Day.

Approximately 10 prison guards and four inmates were killed on the morning of Jan. 1 when an unknown number of gunmen arrived at the Cereso No. 3 state prison at around 7 a.m. local time and opened fire, officials said.

Another 13 individuals were injured, and 24 inmates were able to escape when riots broke out among rival groups within the prison during the attack, the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office said.

Details regarding the escapees were not provided; however, Juarez police said that the escaped inmates committed several carjackings and stole vehicles after fleeing the prison.

Soldiers and state police were able to control the situation later on Sunday, according to officials.

An investigation has been launched into the attack, and four people have so far been detained, prosecutors said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack or if the armed assailants are among those who were detained, but law enforcement officials said they are now on “maximum alert.”

Relatives of inmates react outside the prison of Ciudad Juarez number 3 after an attack on the prison left 14 people dead and allowed 24 inmates to escape on Jan. 1, 2023. Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking at a news conference, Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar said that municipal police engaged in a shootout with some of the suspected escapees several miles away from Cereso on Sunday, which resulted in three of the suspects being killed and five more arrested.

Shortly before the attack on the prison on Sunday, law enforcement officials reported that Juárez municipal police officers were attacked but managed to capture and detain four men after a vehicle chase, according to The El Paso Times.

Violent Prison Outbreaks Common

Later on Sunday, in a different part of the city, police confirmed that two other drivers in a hummer had been killed by law enforcement officials in what authorities called an armed aggression incident.

It is unclear if any of the events are related.

The high-security Cereso No. 3 state prison is located 17 miles (28 kilometers) south of Ciudad Juarez, which serves as a major battleground between drug cartels. It sits across the border from El Paso, which has been buckling under the weight of an influx of illegal aliens.

According to a February 2022 report by the State Human Rights Commission, more than 3,700 people are detained in the prison, which has a maximum capacity of 3,135.

Government officials say the prison is run by members of an organized crime group known as the Mexicles, reported NPR.

This is not the first time that the prison—which is reportedly one of Latin America’s most dangerous institutions—has seen violent outbreaks.

In August 2022, a violent clash broke out between rival gangs in the prison during family visiting hours. Three prisoners were killed while the violence spilled out in the city, with gang members launching attacks on residents; setting fire to vehicles and buildings, and killing at least nine people, including a child, according to local reports. The National Guard was subsequently called in to help quell the situation.

Years earlier, in 2011, 17 people were killed during an armed clash between rival gangs in the prison. In March 2009, 20 people were killed and 15 injured after a riot broke out between inmates.

Reuters contributed to this report.