28 inmates killed in Mexico prison riot

Acapulco : Rioting inmates at a Mexican prison slit their rivals' throats and beat them to death Thursday, leaving 28 dead in the latest explosion of violence in the country's often lawless jails.

Bodies were found strewn around the maximum-security wing, the kitchen, a prison yard and a conjugal visits area after the pre-dawn riot at the Las Cruces federal prison in Acapulco, said the security spokesman for the state of Guerrero.

"The incident was triggered by an ongoing feud between rival groups within the prison," the spokesman, Roberto Alvarez, told a press conference.

It was the latest deadly riot in Mexico's chronically overcrowded prisons, where corruption abounds, inmates often have de facto control, and contraband weapons and drugs are rife.

The Guerrero governor has ordered an investigation of all prison staff, Alvarez said. State police have temporarily taken control of the prison, backed by federal police and the army, which set up a security cordon outside.

Officials initially gave a death toll of five and indicated the riot was limited to the maximum-security wing. But the toll soared as police searched the rest of the prison.

Three more inmates were wounded in the violence, Alvarez said.

Guards said some of the victims had their throats slit, according to an internal state police report. It also said gunshots had been fired in the maximum-security wing, apparently by prisoners.

There was a heavy security presence outside the prison, with soldiers and riot police encircling the compound and two helicopters hovering overhead.

Dozens of anxious relatives had gathered, demanding news on their loved ones. Some shouted at police and tried to force their way through the wall of officers' shields.