La Palma, Mexico
The Mexican army has taken over the country’s highest-security prison, following reports that drug gangs were planning a mass escape. Authorities at La Palma prison called for help after informants said that two notorious drug lords—Benjamin Arellano Felix, of the Tijuana cartel, and Osiel Cardenas, of the Gulf cartel—had joined forces behind bars. They had allegedly smuggled guns into the prison, and were planning the breakout to prevent a rival from taking over their territory. More than 750 state troops with tanks surrounded the prison this week, and guards searched everyone going in and coming out. “The maximum security has begun to wane,” a prison official said, “and we have to restore it.”
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