Violence at a prison in the Mexican state of Sinaloa has left 12 dead in just two days, in another episode that raises serious questions about the real control authorities have inside detention centers in cartel-dominated areas.
The death toll rose again on Friday
Two inmates were killed on Friday during a new clash at the Mazatlan prison, after 10 people were killed by gunfire at the same facility a day earlier.
With the latest victims, the total number of dead has reached 12 in two days, in a situation that shows the clashes were not an isolated episode.
Official version: the situation is “under control”
According to the Sinaloa State Security Secretariat, the army and police intervened again at the prison and brought the situation under control.
However, the repetition of clashes from one day to the next raises strong doubts about the effectiveness of security measures and the ability of institutions to prevent violence inside the prison.
Among the victims, also a child
A day earlier, at the same prison, nine inmates and one visitor, a child, were killed during an exchange of gunfire.
The motives for the incident have not yet been determined, at least according to the official information made public so far.
Sinaloa, internal conflict and prisons under pressure
The prison is located in the tourist city of Mazatlan, where violent clashes among criminals have become a daily occurrence.
State detention centers hold many members of the Sinaloa cartel, which has been involved in a fierce internal conflict with more than 1,000 people killed since 2024.
This is the third incident of this kind in a prison in Sinaloa this year. On May 31, seven inmates were killed inside a prison in Culiacan, the state capital.
The incident further deepens concerns over the penetration of criminal groups into the penitentiary system and over security gaps in one of Mexico’s most troubled states.
Beyond official statements about the situation being under control, the toll from the two days leaves little room for optimism.