The Aguaruto penitentiary in Culiacán.
A year after the massive escape of 51 convicts in Culiacan, Sinaloa, during the city’s infamous “Jueves Negro” (Black Thursday) drug cartel attacks, authorities acknowledge that they have recaptured only six of the men who took advantage of the chaos to break out of the city’s Aguaruto penitentiary.
Of the six escapees that have been recaptured, four were found just three days later in the city, authorities said. A fifth was captured last December in Mazatlán, about three hours from Culiacán, and the sixth was arrested October 11 in Culiacán after attempting to rob a school.
“Black Thursday” refers to a chaotic and violent event in the state capital on October 17 following the authorities’ capture of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s son, Ovidio, in order to execute a U.S. warrant for his extradition.
Within a few hours, Guzmán’s detention in Culiacán unleashed a day of retaliatory chaos in the city by armed civilians believed to be part of the Sinaloa Cartel. They fired on authorities who had Guzmán in custody and then began a campaign of shootings, arson, and armed road blockades in the city.
At least eight people died and 16 were injured before authorities released Guzmán from custody on orders by President López Obrador, who told the country two days later that he was trying to prevent as many as 200 people from being killed by gangsters.
The 51 convicts who escaped the penitentiary in the chaos — which temporarily closed schools, businesses, and public transportation — were serving sentences for crimes such as armed robbery, drug trafficking, and murder.
Source: Milenio (sp)
