WORLD BRIEFING / MEXICO
Suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel disguised as federal police officers entered a prison in the northern state of Zacatecas and freed 59 inmates, police and army officials said.
Most of the prisoners who escaped are believed to be members of the armed wing of the Gulf cartel, one of the country’s most powerful criminal organizations.
President Felipe Calderon has staked his presidency on crushing drug gangs that killed more than 6,000 people last year across the nation. The United States is increasingly alarmed by the violence, fearing it could spill across the border.
The early-morning jailbreak was carried out by heavily armed men who arrived in 15 vehicles and a helicopter and gained entry to the prison after claiming they were there for a prisoner transfer, officials said.
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