Prison Escapes Mexico

In the latest in a series of embarrassments in Mexico's struggle to battle its powerful narcotics cartels, two federal agents were under arrest Saturday after the brother of convicted drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego "inexplicably" walked out of a federal police lockup.

A notorious drug trafficker who may have been the intended target of the gunmen who killed Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo in 1993 escaped from a high-security prison in the state of Jalisco late Friday, federal officials said. The prison's director and 33 prison officers were swiftly arrested on suspicion of aiding the escape. The mysterious disappearance of Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as "Chapo," triggered a massive search in the Guadalajara area, where the prison is located.

Pounding on the cinder block walls of his cell house, a sobbing Ramiro Cornejo Barreto claimed Friday that he is a victim of mistaken identity, not a ruthless cop killer and fugitive from Mexican justice. "This is not right," the Dana Point cook said, pushing away Mexican court documents that detail the crimes of an escaped felon who has eluded authorities since 1991. "This is not me. My whole life has been changed now."

At least 90 prisoners broke out of a jail in Mexico's troubled Chiapas state after clashing with guards Tuesday, prosecutors said. Armando Cruz, deputy director of investigations at the state prosecutor's office, said one prisoner died and four were injured during the escape from the prison near San Cristobal de las Casas, 470 miles southeast of Mexico City. "This afternoon a group of 24 prisoners began to riot and took the armory, stealing 23 M1 rifles.

Police and army troops fanned out across Mexico's northern Chihuahua state in search of a dozen inmates who broke out of the state prison after a riot in which four people were killed. Angel Torres, a spokesman for the state government, described the escapees as "drug traffickers and murderers, including one who killed 11 people." In all, 34 prisoners fled but 22 were recaptured. Torres said a convicted drug trafficker organized the escape but was killed along with another inmate.

Ninety-seven convicts, including several linked to some of Mexico's most notorious drug smugglers, escaped from a top security jail in Mazatlan, police said. They said the convicts escaped from the maximum security wing of the Mazatlan Social Rehabilitation Center through a 40-yard-long tunnel apparently dug from the outside in. One convict was recaptured. Police mounted roadblocks and patrolled the port area of Mazatlan, 680 miles northwest of Mexico City.

At least 90 prisoners broke out of a jail in Mexico's troubled Chiapas state after clashing with guards Tuesday, prosecutors said. Armando Cruz, deputy director of investigations at the state prosecutor's office, said one prisoner died and four were injured during the escape from the prison near San Cristobal de las Casas, 470 miles southeast of Mexico City. "This afternoon a group of 24 prisoners began to riot and took the armory, stealing 23 M1 rifles.

In the increasingly confused aftermath of a shootout between state and federal police, a state deputy attorney general and five police commanders have been cleared of wrongdoing in the incident, authorities said Monday. A Mexican federal judge ordered only one official, an agent of the state prosecutor's office, to stand trial on charges of aiding the escape of two men arrested March 3 in the gunfight at a busy intersection, officials said.

Seventeen inmates have escaped from a Mexican prison near Texas through an elaborate tunnel dug beneath a prison wall. The men took three to six months to dig a tunnel almost 80 yards long from a cell in the CeReSo prison to a nearby orchard, police said. They escaped early Sunday and remained at large Monday morning.

A Duarte man sought in the slaying of a vocational school teacher during a shooting rampage that left two others wounded surrendered Monday, 12 days after escaping from jail in Mexico where he was to be tried, authorities said. Accompanied by his attorney, Martin Anthony Meza surrendered at the West Covina police station just after 3 p.m. and was booked for investigation of murder and attempted murder, police said. He was jailed without bail.

In the latest in a series of embarrassments in Mexico's struggle to battle its powerful narcotics cartels, two federal agents were under arrest Saturday after the brother of convicted drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego "inexplicably" walked out of a federal police lockup.

Pounding on the cinder block walls of his cell house, a sobbing Ramiro Cornejo Barreto claimed Friday that he is a victim of mistaken identity, not a ruthless cop killer and fugitive from Mexican justice. "This is not right," the Dana Point cook said, pushing away Mexican court documents that detail the crimes of an escaped felon who has eluded authorities since 1991. "This is not me. My whole life has been changed now."

A Dana Point cook who says he has legally worked and paid taxes in the country for 12 years is battling extradition to Mexico, where officials say he is a fugitive wanted for killing a police officer in 1989 and escaping from prison two years later. Ramiro Cornejo Barreto, 29, was arrested Wednesday by U.S. marshals on a warrant alleging that in 1989, he walked into a Tijuana jewelry store with a submachine gun. A police chase ensued, and an officer was shot to death.

Seventeen inmates have escaped from a Mexican prison near Texas through an elaborate tunnel dug beneath a prison wall. The men took three to six months to dig a tunnel almost 80 yards long from a cell in the CeReSo prison to a nearby orchard, police said. They escaped early Sunday and remained at large Monday morning.

In the increasingly confused aftermath of a shootout between state and federal police, a state deputy attorney general and five police commanders have been cleared of wrongdoing in the incident, authorities said Monday. A Mexican federal judge ordered only one official, an agent of the state prosecutor's office, to stand trial on charges of aiding the escape of two men arrested March 3 in the gunfight at a busy intersection, officials said.

A Duarte man sought in the slaying of a vocational school teacher during a shooting rampage that left two others wounded surrendered Monday, 12 days after escaping from jail in Mexico where he was to be tried, authorities said. Accompanied by his attorney, Martin Anthony Meza surrendered at the West Covina police station just after 3 p.m. and was booked for investigation of murder and attempted murder, police said. He was jailed without bail.

A Dana Point cook who says he has legally worked and paid taxes in the country for 12 years is battling extradition to Mexico, where officials say he is a fugitive wanted for killing a police officer in 1989 and escaping from prison two years later. Ramiro Cornejo Barreto, 29, was arrested Wednesday by U.S. marshals on a warrant alleging that in 1989, he walked into a Tijuana jewelry store with a submachine gun. A police chase ensued, and an officer was shot to death.

Chihuahua state Atty. Gen. Jose Miller said authorities have located six more escaped convicts, and their arrest is expected soon, the Excelsior newspaper reported Friday. A total of 34 convicts escaped, four people were killed and eight others were injured during a jailbreak and riot Tuesday in Chihuahua, 225 miles south of El Paso, Tex. Twenty-six of the escapees were rounded up Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Gabriel Nahas, director of Chihuahua state's 14 prisons.

Chihuahua state Atty. Gen. Jose Miller said authorities have located six more escaped convicts, and their arrest is expected soon, the Excelsior newspaper reported Friday. A total of 34 convicts escaped, four people were killed and eight others were injured during a jailbreak and riot Tuesday in Chihuahua, 225 miles south of El Paso, Tex. Twenty-six of the escapees were rounded up Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Gabriel Nahas, director of Chihuahua state's 14 prisons.

Police and army troops fanned out across Mexico's northern Chihuahua state in search of a dozen inmates who broke out of the state prison after a riot in which four people were killed. Angel Torres, a spokesman for the state government, described the escapees as "drug traffickers and murderers, including one who killed 11 people." In all, 34 prisoners fled but 22 were recaptured. Torres said a convicted drug trafficker organized the escape but was killed along with another inmate.