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Inside Ciudad Juarez, the Barrio Azteca cartel operates in an army style hierarchy. The ‘generals’ order their troops from both in and out the complex. The gang is believed to command around 5,000 members.

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These gang members have been imprisoned due to committing horrible crimes like drug trafficking, rape and murder.

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The prison guards are powerless as the gang members do what they please. In shocking CCTV footage, two Azteca gang members are seen overpowering prison guards and taking their guns and cell keys.

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Armed with the guard’s automatic rifles, they proceed to open fire on a cell containing members from a rival cartel. In this incident, 13 Los Mexicles members were brutally executed.

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The prison guards are heavily armed with machine guns and have permission to “shoot to kill”, but in reality, they are powerless.

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In a riot following the CCTV footage, 17 prisoners were killed and 20 more were wounded. The prisoners drank alcohol, took drugs, and attempted rape and sexual assault on children. The police had to wait outside until they felt confident they could regain control of the prison.

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After the riots, police and prison guards allegedly “take revenge” in an attempt to restore their power. They threaten the inmates and thoroughly search them.

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According to American former inmate Shohn Huckabee, the city police chief killed an unarmed gang leader in front of other inmates. Before executing him, he had stripped him naked after a riot.

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Riots aren’t the only problem in the prison. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, there were knife battles as well as inmates setting fire to entire cellblocks. In one case, a gang forced a prison guard to free 150 of its members to spark a bloody riot, which resulted in 20 prisoner deaths.

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Recently, Pope Francis visited the prison and called on the inmates to end their cycle of murder and violence, to cut ties with their gangs, and to become “prophets”.

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He hugged the inmates and blessed the 3000 gang members, in an inspirational message of love and peace.

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The inmates, most of them religious, were honored by the Pope’s visit and prepared to sing a song for him.

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Meanwhile, security remains tight, but prison riots continue. Not only in Ciudad Juarez but across the country. In the northern city of Monterrey, a brawl erupted in between inmates fighting for control in the prison. The violent incident killed 49 inmates.