Mexico City: Days after a deadly prison riot that triggered a search for fugitive convicts, Mexico's defense ministry announced Tuesday it has sent 200 military personnel to the northern border city of Juarez to fight organized crime. .
The prison's director was also sacked after at least 30 inmates managed to escape, officials said Tuesday.
Juarez prison director Alejandro Alvarado has reportedly been fired and is also being investigated for his alleged involvement in the jailbreak, according to state prosecutors in the border state of Chihuahua.
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Gunmen stormed a prison a few miles south of El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, killing 19 people in the process. The attack also resulted in a mass escape that included cartel leader Ernesto Alfredo Pinón de la Cruz, also known as "El Neto", as well as guards and prisoners.
Federal officials arrived to restore order and later discovered a "VIP zone" with drugs and cash inside the state-run prison. Relatives of inmates queued outside the facility on Tuesday, some of whom wanted to speak to officials.
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According to the inmate's aunt, María Luisa Peña, authorities have not yet informed her about her nephew's condition. We want to know what is happening with our relatives and we want them to talk to us because we are worried, she said.
The unnamed inmate's wife said, "Aren't we really just human? Everyone makes mistakes. Many of us now want the chance to know what is happening to our relatives."
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Chihuahua's government announced Monday night that seven people were killed in police clashes that followed as part of the search for the escaped prisoners. Two policemen were among those who died. The death toll from prison violence in Mexico in recent years was caused by Sunday's incident.