Los Chapos, members of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, which was formerly led by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, and the local Los Mexicles clashed in a prison Thursday afternoon, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia said.
A riot then broke out, leaving two shot to death and four injured with bullet wounds, Mejia said, talking with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at a regular news conference. Another 16 were injured in the fighting, he said.
Officials did not say what caused the clash.
The Mexicles rampaged in the city after the riot, killing nine civilians, authorities said. There were four employees of a radio station, including one announcer, according to Mejia.
A woman stands in front of a building that was burnt during violence that swept across parts of Ciudad Juarez. Across town, convenience stores were shot and set on fire. FEMSA, the parent of Oxxo chain, said in a statement that one of its employees and a woman who applied for a job were killed in the violence. Six alleged members of Mexicles were arrested Friday morning by the local police, with help from the Army and National Guard, Mejia said. By Friday afternoon, some 300 Army soldiers were scheduled to arrive in town, with another 300 to follow. Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez has let us know that the city is in a state of calm, and that public order has been restored, Mejia said. Lopez Obrador said that they hope it doesn't happen again, because innocent people were attacked. Thursday's attacks were the result of clashes between cartels and the military in central Mexico, which led to taxis, buses and some 20 Oxxo stores being set ablaze, Lopez Obrador said. The retail group ANTAD said we should not and cannot get used to this type of event.