Jan. 3 (UPI) -- At least seven people, including two investigators and five gunmen, were killed Monday in a shootout in Mexico between gunmen and Mexican authorities hunting for prisoners, who escaped during a deadly prison break in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Sunday.
The search continued Tuesday for the escapees, including gang leader Ernesto Piñón.
It was not immediately known if any of the gunmen killed in Monday's shootout were among those who escaped from prison Sunday, during a violent jailbreak that left 10 guards and seven inmates dead.
Among the escapees is Rafael Caro-Quintero, a high profile drug cartel leader with links to the Sinaloa and Caborca cartels. Caro-Quinrweo is currently on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was previously convicted for the 1985 kidnapping and murder of a special agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency, but was released in 2013. Caro-Quintero was recaptured in July 2022.
A gang known as "Los Mexicales," which is connected to the Sinaloa cartel, is believed to have masterminded the prison break. The escape involved multiple armored vehicles ferrying gunmen to the prison while inmates inside distracted guards.
Mexican authorities say at least 25 inmates escaped, including Los Mexicales leader Ernesto Piñón, who was serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and murder. Authorities discovered a jacuzzi, a safe containing $87,000, 35 pounds of marijuana, 8.8 pounds of crystal meth, and 3.3 pounds of heroin, in Piñón's cell.
Authorities in Chihuahua, the state where Ciudad Juarez is located, say federal authorities denied their request to have Piñón moved to a higher-security federal institution.
Five of the escapees were recaptured on Monday, and police seized one of the vehicles that was used in the assault on the prison.
The prison in Ciudad Juarez was the site of a riot in August that spread to the streets, resulting in at least 10 deaths.