Ten people, including a minor visitor, were killed and 16 others were injured during violent incidents at a prison in Mazatlán, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, on Thursday (October 8). Heavy military and police forces intervened to bring the situation under control, in a region plagued by internal conflict within the Sinaloa cartel, which has claimed more than 1,000 lives since 2024.
Dozens of soldiers and police officers, armed with assault rifles and equipped with protective shields, entered the correctional facility, while an armored vehicle and ambulances were deployed in the surrounding area.
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According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent, relatives of inmates gathered outside the prison, seeking information about the fate of their loved ones.
The toll was announced by Sinaloa’s Minister of Public Security, Sinué Tejés, in a video posted on Facebook.
“Nine people who were being held in custody and one minor who was there for a visit lost their lives, while another 16 inmates were injured,” he said.
The official did not specify what caused the clash nor did he provide further details regarding the circumstances of the child’s death.
Security forces regained control of the facility, and the injured were transported for medical treatment. Visits to the prison were temporarily suspended, and the state attorney general’s office has taken over the investigation of the case.
More than 1,000 dead in the Sinaloa cartel war
The state of Sinaloa is facing a prolonged wave of criminal violence due to the conflict between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
These internal conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people since 2024, while many members of the criminal organization are being held in the state’s correctional facilities.
At this time, authorities have not clarified whether the incidents in Mazatlán are directly linked to the conflict between rival groups.
This is the second deadly incident at a Sinaloa prison in 2026. On May 31, seven inmates were killed in clashes that broke out at a correctional facility in Culiacán, the state capital.
Source: Proto Thema
