3 dead, 80 at large after Cancun prison riot

• Prisoners riot to stop transfer of alleged gang leader
• Police searching door-to-door for missing convicts
• Not all of prison under police control

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) -- About 1,000 prisoners rioted in a state penitentiary early Friday, overpowering guards with knives and bats. Guards fired their weapons, killing three inmates, said Red Cross official Ricardo Portugal, who received the bodies.

Hundreds of state and federal police and soldiers rushed to the prison and had most of the facility under control later Friday morning, but gangs of prisoners still roamed free in some areas.

Groups of prisoners stood on the penitentiary roof holding bats and stones and carrying banners with slogans such as "No more deaths."

Prison director Juvenal Reyes said authorities had sent a negotiator, but prisoners had refused to talk with him.

The prisoners began fighting the guards to stop a transfer of 40 inmates, including alleged prison gang leader Marcos Gallegos, to a penitentiary in the city of Chetumal, 380 kilometers (235 miles) south, Reyes said. Gallegos is serving 17 years for the rape of minors, he said.

More than 150 prisoners escaped during the clashes, but about 70 were recaptured later Friday morning, Reyes said. Police were searching residential houses near the prison to find those still at large.

Several guards and prisoners were injured in the clashes.

Associated Press
09/12/2006