Friendly Prison football game between two Mexican drug cartels results in 16 deaths. The Prisoners were armed with weapons, including guns.
The Varonil Prison in the northern state of Zacatecas witnessed a bloody end to 2019 when a fight broke out between members of two rival cartels. The inmates took part in a friendly match on New Year’s Eve. However, a dirty tackle sparked a violent outrage that saw 16 inmates die while 5 others were left wounded.
The Gulf and Zetas Cartels are two of the most powerful criminal gang in Mexico. tey were originally aligned before splitting in 2002. The rival gangs arranged a ‘friendly’ game at the Cieneguillas jail, where 1,000 inmates are in custody.
Family members were allowed to visit the prison and watch the game. However, they watched in complete horror as the match descended into utter Chaos after a dangerous tackle in the penalty area.
Friendly Prison football game between two Mexican drug cartels results in 16 deaths
According to the Daily Mail, it took about two hours for a riot squad to restore order at the Varonil prison. The federal forces and the National Guard were mobilised to the prison. However, it took them more than three hours to gain control of the situation.
20 ambulances were called to the prison in northern Mexico; where 15 inmates died of their injuries while a 16th victim died after being rushed to hospital.
Four firearms were confiscated in the aftermath of the incident. This is despite the prison staff conducting a search for weapons and contraband on Tuesday afternoon. The Guards seized about 20 knives, a bone saw, two hammers, a 9mm cartridge and scissors during that search according to local media reports. However, they failed to detect the 4 firearms that would unfortunately result in the bloodbath that later ensued.
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