A San Diego man told his father that cockroaches routinely bite him and rats as big as cats scurry inside his crowded cell in La Mesa State Penitentiary in Tijuana, Mexico. Conditions like these had become tolerable to most prisoners, but a couple of intolerable incidents pushed the prison population too far, leading to riots that have killed some 20 people (reports vary of numbers killed).
The first riot on Sunday, Sept. 14, was apparently sparked by the death of a 19-year-old inmate, allegedly tortured by guards. The two guards suspected in the death are at large. Three prisoners were killed in the riot and more than 100 were injured.
The second, on Wednesday, began when women prisoners were served spoiled eggs and denied water, according to Francisco Javier Sanchez, the sate’s human rights ombudsman. At least 17 prisoners were killed by police trying to quell the attack and another 45 were injured, including guards and police. Some reports say as many as 21 were killed and the toll is expected to rise as those injured succumb to their wounds.
Of the dead, 13 showed signs of gunshot wounds and the rest were beaten or knifed, according to Baja California’s attorney general, Rommel Moreno Manjarrez. Many asked why police used live rounds instead of rubber bullets or other nonlethal weapons against inmates armed with rocks.
During the riots rampaging inmates threw rocks at guards, set fires and tried to breach a prison wall.
The crowd outside the walls, during and after the police takeover, set fire to vehicles and threw rocks at officers, who fired back with rubber bullets and tear gas. Destruction was so widespread that some estimates are that 80 percent of the prison was destroyed. Many inmates were sent to prisons in Tecate and Ensenada.
Although state officials blamed the widespread violence on battles between criminal groups inside the facility, Sánchez said that is not the heart of the problem. The La Mesa prison is often the target of complaints. The prison has seen several uprisings in recent years as state officials have been unable to improve overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, control guard brutality and corruption and improve medical care. Built to house 4000 inmates, it holds twice that number.
Three top prison officials were being held for questioning in relation to the incidents. They include a former top deputy to de la Rosa, the former head of the state prison system, and the former warden of La Mesa, all of whom were removed from their positions Wednesday.