Guards Charged in Prison Escape

7 prison guards charged after Reynosa prison break.

The Monitor

Reynosa, Tamaulipas - Federal prosecutors said seven prison guards face criminal charges after a dozen prisoners escaped during a shootout last week.

Seven prison guards helped organize the escape Friday night, when armed men arrived at the state prison south of Reynosa just before 7 p.m. Friday, the Mexican attorney general's office said in a statement.

During the incident, the attackers exchanged gunfire with prison guards. Three inmates died during the battle, but authorities have not said who killed them.

Authorities identified the slain men as Martin Valenzuela Pintor, Juan Antonio Hernández Resendez and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez Hernandez.

The attorney general's office said it questioned 31 guards and supervisors at the prison and found evidence to pursue charges against seven guards with helping the prisoners escape. Their identities were not immediately disclosed.

All seven guards remain in custody at the state prison in Reynosa — the same spot where the jailbreak occurred, officials said. A district judge will decide their fate.

The Reynosa prison escape was the second at state prisons in Tamaulipas in recent weeks.

On Monday, a federal judge found evidence to detain 42 guards suspected of participating in a separate prison break March 26 in Matamoros. Forty inmates escaped during that incident.

"The Federal Government will continue to hold firm to an unwavering commitment to society to strengthen the rule of law and ensure public safety throughout the country," the statement reads.