Gang leader tied to El Chapo’s old cartel and serving a 224-year sentence flees Mexican prison
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The leader of a notorious street gang that has unleashed violence in Mexico was among 25 inmates who fled a prison on Sunday after an orchestrated gun attack that left 10 guards and seven inmates dead.
Los Mexicles leader Ernesto ‘El Neto Piñón and the gang’s second-in-command, César Vega, fled Cereso State Prison No. 3 in Ciudad Juárez after the assault to escape them injured 15 inmates and a guard .
At least 25 gunmen arrived at the penitentiary at 7 a.m. and launched a military-style attack, instantly killing two guards at the entrance, where visitors were waiting to enter.
Later, the group approached a second booth where two more guards were tied up and shot dead. Then they entered the fifth cell block of the prison, where they rescued Piñón and Vega.
Los Mexicles leader Ernesto ‘El Neto Piñón is missing after he fled a prison in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Sunday morning during an armed attack that left 10 guards and seven inmates dead. Piñón was sentenced to 224 years in 2010 after being found guilty of kidnapping and murder charges.
Inmates are surrounded and seated together outside Cereso State Prison No. 3 moments after security forces regained control of the penitentiary.
Ciudad Juárez authorities detained five members of the Los Mexicles gang after a high-speed chase. The five suspects were arrested on attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, and criminal organization conspiracy charges.
The gang members fled in several vehicles through the same entrance through which they had entered while 25 inmates took to the streets and disappeared.
Authorities reported at least six carjackings involving the fleeing prisoners.
Ciudad Juárez police killed two gang members during a street shootout and arrested five gang members after a chase.
The five suspects were arrested on attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, and criminal organization conspiracy charges.
At least five of the murdered inmates were suspected members of Los Mexicles.
Security forces entered the prison at 10 am and restored order at noon after a riot and recovered 10 firearms, drugs, liquor and other personal items from Piñón’s cell.
Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense revealed during a press conference Monday that investigators searching a jail cell found a safe deposit box containing $87,000.
“The money that is being secured is in a safe in one of those VIP cells,” Defense Minister Luis Cresencio said.
A total of 10 cells were equipped according to the specific tastes of the gang members. One of the cells had its own jacuzzi and others had televisions.
César Vega (pictured in September 2015), the second-in-command of Los Mexicles, also fled from Cereso State Prison No. 3
The other 25 prisoners have been identified as Carlos Altamirano, 25 years old; Daniel de Leon, 37; and Alejandro Ayala, 29, who were jailed on kidnapping charges.
Also missing are Adán Aguirre, 32; Francisco Juarez, 26; Edgar Ortiz, 27; David Rios, 24; Joaquin Gutierrez, 42; Felix Sanchez, 43; Ivan Acosta, 39; and José Celis, 29, who were sent to prison for murder.
Isaac Rojas, 30; Brian Celis, 24; Brian de Santiago, 19; Rodolfo González, 41; Christian Reyes, 27; Raul Lopez, 35; Mario Gutierrez, 31; Jorge Melendez, 28; Julio Perales, 32; and Juan Carrasco, 29, were all in prison for illegal possession of military firearms.
Jose Espinoza, 27; Ismael Garcia, 30; Daniel Rodriguez, 22; and Javier Rodríguez, 25; they were jailed on assault charges.
Luis Jurado, 21, was in prison for burying and exhuming human bodies.
It is unknown if they all have ties to Los Mexicles.
Police in Ciudad Juárez seized equipment and rifles from five Los Mexicles gang members arrested during a high-speed chase
Inmates are detained outside the Cereso No. 3 state prison in Ciudad Juárez after the deadly attack Sunday morning that left 10 guards and seven inmates dead.
Piñón rose to power as commander of Los Mexicles after Jesús ‘El Lalo’ Soto was released from prison in February 2020.
He joined the gang when he was 18 in 2007 and was involved in numerous criminal incidents, including kidnappings, in Ciudad Juárez, where the criminal faction acted as the main enforcer for Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s former Sinaloa Cartel.
Piñón was convicted of kidnapping and murder in 2010 and sentenced to 224 years in prison.
Authorities say he was also involved in ordering a wave of assaults in Ciudad Juárez on August 11 that left 11 dead, 20 injured and multiple vehicles and businesses burned.
The break was reportedly sparked by Los Mexicles’ split from the Sinaloa Cartel and their new alliance with Los Aztecas, the armed wing of the Juárez Cartel.
Vega served as Piñón’s main confidante at Cereso State Prison No. 3, where the two shared a cell.
Van confiscated from Los Mexicles gang members who participated in Sunday’s jail attack
Security forces take action after a prison riot broke out at the Cereso No. 3 state prison in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Guns and bullets are seen in front of the Cereso No. 3 state prison that were recovered by security forces
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Vega to Mexico in September 2015, nearly four years after he was arrested at a fried chicken restaurant in El Paso, Texas, where he worked as a cook.
Vega was detained on Dec. 27, 2011 at Church’s Chicken a year after he fled from Mexican authorities after the prison van in which he was being transported was ambushed, according to ICE.
He and seven other Los Mexicles gang members kidnapped Natividad Torres from her Ciudad Juárez home on September 15, 2009.
The kidnappers requested around $47,000 for Torres’ release, but ended up taking only $700, a television, and a 2008 Toyota. Torres was shot four times on September 15 and released the next day.
He died on October 21 as a result of the gunshot wound, and Vega and four other hijackers were arrested the following month.
Vega was sentenced to 42 years for kidnapping and murder.
Visitors stand in front of the entrance to Cereso State Prison No. 3 following the Sunday morning assault on the jail that led to the escape of 27 inmates.