Guards Struggle for Hours to Contain Deadly Prison Fight

A fight in a Mexican prison has left 16 inmates dead and five wounded. It took nearly three hours Tuesday for guards to regain control of the men's prison in Cieneguillas, the New York Times reports. The victims had been shot, stabbed or beaten to death, per the AP. Officials said four guns were found after the riot, possibly brought in by visitors on Tuesday. An investigation has begun, per Reuters, and security is to be increased at prisons.

Violence in Mexico's crowded prisons has been a problem. Nearly 50 inmates were killed in a gang fight in a Monterrey prison in 2016, per the Times. In 2017, a fight left at least 28 inmates dead in a prison in Acapulco. A prison fight in October ended with six inmates dead in the state of Morelos. (More prison riot stories.)