Crime Bosses Complain About 'Inhuman' Conditions at a Mexico's SuperMax Prison Arron Daugherty - InSight Crime
go to original March 4, 2015

Reproduction taken on March 3, 2015, in Mexico City, of some of the signatures on a letter to the National Commission of Human Rights from criminals, drug dealers, murderers and kidnappers jailed in "El Altiplano," Mexico's highest-security prison. (AFP Photo/Ronaldo Schemidt)

Some of Mexico's most notorious crime bosses have signed a petition complaining of human rights abuses in the country's only "supermax" rated federal prison, though whether it will draw a significant response while the government remains rocked by crimes against law abiding citizens remains to be seen.

Local news site Nayaritenlinea.mx published a petition which appears to contain the signatures of 138 inmates including infamous Mexican drug lords such as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Edgar Valdez Villareal, alias "La Barbie," and Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo.

According to the document, inmates at El Altiplano, situated in the state of Mexico, live in overcrowded cells, eat poor food, commonly develop skin and respiratory problems due to unsanitary conditions and suffer insufficient medical and social rehabilitation services. Additionally, visiting family members are physically and verbally abused by prison guards and conjugal visit rooms are of poor quality.

The maximum security prison also suffers from rampant corruption and oppression, all overseen by prison director Librado Carmona Garcia, who provides perks to inmates for large amounts of money, the petition claimed.

Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) received the document and said it will investigate further. CNDH did not comment on the authenticity of the document's signatures or the veracity of its claims.

Read the rest at InSight Crime

Over Crowded Mexican Prisons (Time/BorderGuards)

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