Mexican cartel chiefs were living like kings in a prison that recently rioted, enjoying flatscreen TVs and mini-fridges while most inmates in the overcrowded facility went without electricity and clean water.
The relatively luxurious lifestyle of the cartel chiefs was discovered in the aftermath of a prison riot last week that left 49 people dead, reported La Jornada. Some of the prison spaces had “air conditioning, flat screens, mini bars, aquariums, apparatus for physical exercise, king size beds and even a sauna,” authorities told reporters.
There was even a bar and a small market where food could be purchased.
The luxurious standard of living enjoyed by a select few inmates is demonstrative of the corruption in the Mexican penal system, which was last seen in a high profile manner with the July, 2015, escape of Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera from the overcrowded Topo Chico prison.
In addition to the luxurious cells, authorities found many of the prisoners worshiped altars dedicated to Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. Pope Francis in a Mass Saturday criticized the practice of praying to this cult-like figure that has gained prominence in recent years, and referred to the cartels as “traffickers of death.”
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