title: Tula prison break
text: # Tula prison break
  
  On 1 December 2021, a gang of armed men broke into a prison in Tula de Allende, Hidalgo state, Mexico.
  
  ## Incident
  
  At around 4am on 1 December 2021, gangsters arrived at the building, they proceeded to car-ram and then blow up a pair of vehicles, catching the prison guards' attention. Gunshots were fired by the criminals.
  
  Just as local security forces began to react, two more cars exploded, allowing the gang to successfully storm the jail.
  
  ## Aftermath
  
  Nine inmates were freed, including José Artemio Maldonado Mejía, more well known as "El Michoacano", a local drug lord and head of a Mexican drug cartel, the Pueblos Unidos. The next day, Mexican police managed to recapture three inmates and 8 criminals involved in the prison raid.
  
  Two law enforcement officers, one a policeman and the second a guard, were injured in the attack.
  
  The government of Hidalgo has launched an investigation aiming to track the criminals down. The program is still ongoing.
  
  Car bombs are a rare occurrence in Mexico; the most notable example of their usage occurring in 2010.
  
  