Los Chapos, members of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, 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 broke out, leaving two shot to death and four wounded with bullet wounds, Mejia said, speaking alongside 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. Convenience stores were shot and set on fire across town. One of its employees and a woman who was applying for a job in a company called Oxxo said in a statement that they were killed in the violence. Six alleged members of Mexicles were arrested Friday morning by local police, with help from the Army and National Guard, Mejia said. Some 300 Army soldiers were due to arrive in town on Friday afternoon, with another 300 to follow. Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez has let us know that the city is now in a state of calm, and that public order has been restored, Mejia said. The innocent people were attacked, and we hope it doesn't happen again, Lopez Obrador said. Thursday's attacks followed clash between cartels and the military in central Mexico, which resulted in taxis, buses and some 20 Oxxo stores being set ablaze, Lopez Obrador said. Retail group ANTAD said that we should not and cannot get used to this type of event.