Over the past 48 hours, the Mexican city of Villahermosa, the capital of the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, has been engulfed in chaos after a prison riot that began on Thursday left seven inmates dead.
The riot broke inside the Tabasco State Social Rehabilitation Center (Creset) after authorities tried to transfer two inmates to a different facility. When officers entered the building they were met by gunfire. Apart from the seven fatalities confirmed so far, six police officers and 10 other inmates were injured.
"When authorities entered they were met by gunfire, then inmates started to set things on fire such as furniture and trash," state police chief Victor Hugo Chávez Martínez told press.
He added that Gerardo "N" did not resist the arrest, but Javier "N" did. Armed with a gun, he held out for about three hours, protected by 20 fellow inmates that tried to stop his transfer.
Inmates can be seen armed with machetes and pipes in online videos that began surfacing on social media. Authorities regained control of the facility after a few hours and seized an assault rifle, five pistols, a hand grenade, 23 machetes, 14 knives and 23 homemade shivs.
Discrepancy in the number of deaths
Local law enforcement and members of the National Guard and Army were in charge of controlling the situation, but according to more video evidence inmates can he heard claiming that they were being attacked by the National Guard.
"There's people that do not get in trouble and they are still shooting at us," said an inmate in another one of the videos.
Tabasco authorities confirmed that seven inmates had been killed during the riot while 10 others were injured, as well as four police officers.
But according to protestors and family members from the Creset inmates, more than 40 people might have died during the riot.
"I want to know if my son is alive...don't lie to us, there is more than 42, we have seen the video," said one of the protestors.
🔴#JustoAhora | Familiares de internos realizan fila para ingresar al #Creset
— El Heraldo de Tabasco (@heraldodetab) December 19, 2024
📹 Javier Chávez pic.twitter.com/NWpa7UQbY6
Violence spreads in Villahermosa
According to reports from El Heraldo de Tabasco, acts of vandalism took place almost simultaneously as the riot. Around a dozen vehicles and six convenience stores around the city of Villahermosa were set on fire.
"People are really scared here...this year has been the worst in terms of our safety because we have never experienced so many incidents like these," said a resident of the Villa Parrilla neighborhood, just outside of Villahermosa.
Authorities also reported that spike strips had been placed along the Villahermosa-Teapa highway.
Elsewhere, a body with gunshot wounds was found in the Guadalupe Borja neighborhood.
🔴#Alerta | Se registra el incendio de un #Oxxo en Los Claustros
— El Heraldo de Tabasco (@heraldodetab) December 19, 2024
Tome precauciones pic.twitter.com/c177TLqLIq
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