Criminal leader who escaped from Mexican prison dies in shooting

First modification: 05/01/2023 – 15:32

This is Ernesto Piñón, known as “El Neto”, leader of a gang called Los Mexicles, which has been associated with the Sinaloa cartel, and who was among the 25 inmates who escaped from prison on Sunday.

The Chihuahua prosecutor’s office, where Ciudad Juárez is located, said that Piñón died after an exchange of fire with authorities.

“He shot against the forces of order, being seriously injured and later dying when he was transferred to the prosecutor’s office,” he detailed in a statement.

Piñón had been in prison since 2009, and in 2010 he was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for kidnapping and homicide, according to data from the local prosecutor’s office.

On January 1, an armed group opened fire on the prison guards when relatives of the inmates were lined up for a New Year’s visit.

The attack allowed 25 inmates to escape and left 19 dead, including 10 guards, seven prisoners and two attackers.

That same day, two agents from the Chihuahua prosecutor’s office and five suspected criminals died in clashes at two points in Ciudad Juárez during operations to capture escaped inmates.

Ciudad Juárez, bordering the US El Paso, is strategic in drug trafficking and one of the points where the wave of violence linked to drug trafficking in Mexico broke out in 2006.

With a capacity for 3,135 inmates but currently occupied by some 3,900, the attacked prison has been the scene of several fights and riots, including one that left 20 dead in March 2009.

Detention centers in Mexico, mainly state ones, suffer from chronic problems of overcrowding and violence, which have worsened in recent years due to conflicts between criminal groups.