Head of Mexican jailbreak prison fired, deadly manhunt gathers pace

Members of the Mexican Army inspect a vehicle outside the Cereso 3 prison, as authorities transfer inmates from the Cereso 3 prison in Ciudad Juarez to other prisons in the country following the Sunday morning attack where a cartel kingpin escaped along with two dozen other prisoners, according to a police statement, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Mexican authorities on Tuesday said they had fired the director of a prison near the U.S. border where at least 30 inmates escaped at the weekend after a deadly riot, as police began a manhunt for missing convicts.

State prosecutors in the border state of Chihuahua said Alejandro Alvarado, head of the prison in the city of Ciudad Juarez, had been dismissed, and is also under investigation for his possible role in the jailbreak, alongside others.