Authorities search for clandestine graves inside former Topo Chico prison

In the courtyard of the Topo Chico prison that was shuttered last week, a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves used an underground scanner to search the earth for hidden graves in what was for decades one of Mexico’s most violent prisons .

The Topo Chico prison closed last week after a 76-year history that saw riots , fires , and bloody internal quarrels . One of its most famous inmates included a doctor who was in custody decades ago and who inspired one of the lead characters in the 1991 movie “ The Silence of the Lambs .”

Now, authorities have vowed to continue searching “until we finish combing the whole area as it should be,” Aldo Fasci, security minister for Nuevo León state told reporters. “The hardest part (...) is underground , unfortunately, but it must be done.”

Dozens of police and military officers with dogs continued to search on Tuesday. Inmates ’ relatives said they had disappeared at the site.

The prison is best known for a 2016 massacre that left 49 dead and a dozen injured as warring gangs, the Cartel del Golfo and Los Zetas , fought for control of the prison .

Although Fasci said there were no signs of clandestine graves in the prison , policemen nonetheless extracted soil as dozens of dogs, mostly Belgian Shepherds , sniffed around. The government has said it plans to eventually convert the site into a public park and a museum to dissuade youth from a life of crime .

The reports of clandestine graves “are legends , but we have to confirm them or rule them out,” Fasci said.

The dusk of Mexico’s infamous Topo Chico prison

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