20 inmates die in Mexican prison fight

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20 inmates die in Mexican prison fight

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05 March,2009 09:18 pm

A fight between gangs at a state prison in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez left at least 20 prisoners dead and seven others injured, police said. Some gunshot wounds were reported and police were investigating how a firearm entered the prison, said Victor Valencia, the Chihuahua state governor's representative. The fight broke out shortly after visitors were leaving after an evening of conjugal visits, said Marco Antonio Moreno, state police spokesman in the city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. An Azteca gang member pressured a guard to open the cells of fellow gang members as the conjugal visit was ending, Valencia said, without describing the pressure. About 150 members of the gang then barged in to the area where inmates were saying goodbye to their loved ones and attacked members of two other gangs, Valencia said.