HomeNewsBrief'Zetas Behind Mass Prison Break in North Mexico'
BRIEF

'Zetas Behind Mass Prison Break in North Mexico'

19 SEP 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

The escape of over 130 prisoners from a jail in Coahuila, north Mexico, may have been organized by the Zetas drug gang in order to supply themselves with more manpower, according to local authorities.

The head of Coahuila state's Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), Jorge Luis Moran, told the Associated Press that the Zetas were  "clearly" behind the escape of 131 inmates from the Cereso prison in Piedras Negras on 17 September. Seven have since been recaptured, leaving 124 at large, reported El Universal.

Moran said that he learned of the Zetas' involvement in the plot from other inmates, who told him that some prisoners who didn't belong to the gang were forced to go along with the escape. "[The Zetas] are running out of people," Moran added.

It was originally reported that 132 people had escaped. Some 5,000 police and military personnel have been deployed to find the escapees who, according to Milenio, may have fled to Tamulipas state in the northeast, a Zetas stronghold.

InSight Crime Analysis

If Moran's claims are true, it would be the second mass breakout orchestrated by the Zetas this year. In February, 30 alleged Zetas escaped from a prison near Monterrey after using the slaughter of 44 fellow inmates as a distraction. 

Analyst Alberto Islas told BBC Mundo that the Zetas often organize breakouts to replenish their ranks, as it means they can re-integrate experienced members into the organization. Since May 2008, the gang has reportedly been responsible for the escape of some 546 inmates, all in the north of the country, according to El Economista. 

This figure would constitute nearly 80 percent of the more than 700 prisoners who have fled Mexico's troubled penitentiary system in the last six years.

The Zetas are reportedly in the midst of a split between two of its leaders, Heriberto Lazcano, alias “Z-3”, and Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, alias “Z-40.” It is not clear which faction may have been responsible for the prison break.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…