Topo Chico (prison)

Topo Chico was a prison located in Monterrey, northern Mexico, close to Penitenciaría metro station (Spanish for 'penitentiary').

Topo Chico
Coordinates25°43′30″N 100°20′44″W
Statusclosed
Capacity3,685[1]
Population4,091[1] (as of September 2015)
Managed bySecretariat of Public Security
DirectorGregoria Salazar Robles[2]
CityMonterrey
State/provinceNuevo León
CountryMexico
Notable prisoners
Jorge Lankenau

The prison is an establishment of the Federal Government of Mexico and is administered by the Secretariat of Public Security (Spanish: Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, SSP). The director of the prison is Gregoria Salazar Robles, appointed 12 March 2012.[2]

As of September 2015 the prison was overcrowded with a capacity for 3,685 inmates but a population of 4,091.[1] The infrastructure in poor condition with generally no water, light or ventilation in the cells according to a 2014 report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Juan E. Méndez.[3]

Incidents
Main article: Topo Chico prison riot

In 2011 police found the dismembered body of prison security chief Francisco Martinez Ramirez in a plastic box inside a car abandoned near Topo Chico.[4]

On 21 February 2012, 3 inmates were stabbed to death in targeted attacks at the prison.[5]

On 11 February 2016, 49 inmates were killed and 12 injured following a fight between two rival gangs at Topo Chico[6] in which inmates set fires affecting two of the prison's units.[7] Governor of Nuevo León state Jaime Rodríguez Calderón told journalists that one of the factions involved in the violence was led by a leader of the Zetas Cartel, and the leader of the other group was identified by Mexican media as a leader of the Gulf Cartel.[8]

References
  1. "Cuaderno mensual de información estadística penitenciaria nacional" (XLS) (in Spanish). September 2015.
  2. Porras Lara, Rosa Emilia (11 February 2016). "¿Quién es la directora de Topo Chico?" [Who is the director of Topo Chico?]. Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City.
  3. Human Rights Council Session 28 Agenda item 3. Mission to Mexico A/HRC/28/68/Add.3 page 16. Juan E. Méndez 29 December 2014.
  4. "Mexican prison official murdered in Monterrey". BBC News. 6 February 2011.
  5. "3 inmates killed in Mexican prison". CNN. 21 February 2012.
  6. "Scores killed in prison brawl and blaze in Mexico". CBS News. 11 February 2016.
  7. Castillo, Mariano (11 February 2016). "52 dead in riot at Mexico's Topo Chico prison". CNN.
  8. Agren, David (11 February 2016). "Mexico prison riot: at least 52 people killed and 12 injured in Monterrey". The Guardian.


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