20 Ensenada Jail Escapees Are Recaptured

Police in Ensenada said Wednesday that they had apprehended 20 of the 66 prisoners who escaped from the city jail earlier this week but that many of the most dangerous escapees remained at large.

But authorities expressed confidence that the intensive search now under way would soon result in the recapture of most of the fugitives.

“I think we’ll have 80% of them within a week or so,” said Alfredo Rosales Green, municipal public safety director.

Of the prisoners who escaped Monday, 10 were convicted murderers, 5 or 6 were rapists and 18 were federal prisoners convicted of drug-trafficking violations, according to Gustavo Romero Meza, commander of the Baja California State Judicial Police in Ensenada, which is coordinating the investigation. Many dangerous criminals remain free, Romero said Wednesday. Most of the escapees had been convicted or charged with thievery, assault or similar crimes, he said.

Inside Job Suspected

As the search for the escaped prisoners progressed, Romero said police were continuing their interrogation of jail officials--including the warden, deputy warden, ex-warden and nine prison guards--who have been arrested in connection with the escape.

The 66 prisoners escaped in broad daylight through a drainage pipe that led from the prison yard to a nearby arroyo, according to official accounts. Investigators said the escape was well-planned and strongly suspect that some jail officials must have cooperated. The jailbreak, which occurred without violence, lasted up to four hours and involved the escape of more than one-fifth of the prison population of slightly more than 300.

“It’s not possible that so many left in the middle of the day, with no violence, if there weren’t some negative elements at the jail who may be implicated,” said Rosales, Ensenada’s public safety director.

In Mexico, bribery of prison guards and even jail officials is considered commonplace. Traditionally, some prisoners have been able to pay for superior treatment.

In 1985, the warden of the Tijuana jail and several guards were implicated when a high-ranking suspected narcotics trafficker escaped from the downtown Tijuana facility. The suspected trafficker, Jose Contreras Subias, is still at large. After his escape, jail officials revealed that the wealthy suspect had enjoyed many special privileges during his prison stay--including improper leaves to visit his family, a well-appointed prison suite and frequent visits from friends.

Interim Warden Named

In Ensenada, meanwhile, the mayor has appointed Roberto Meneses, a 12-year-veteran of the Ensenada police force, as interim warden of the jail while the investigation continues. The warden at the time of the escape, Manuel Becerra Mejia, remains in custody.

Ensenada police officers are filling in as jailers while authorities continue their questioning of the prison guards on duty at the time of the escape. State judicial police are also interviewing the captured inmates and the approximately 240 prisoners who remained in the jail in Ensenada, which is about 70 miles south of Tijuana.

City officials acknowledged that security at the prison was lax but blamed budget shortages for the problem. Miroslava Cuellar, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, noted, for example, that there is no barbed-wire fence surrounding the facility--only a fence of cinder blocks.

“It’s just too expensive for the city to maintain,” said Cuellar, echoing previous comments by Ensenada Mayor Ernesto Ruffo Appel.