VIP cells, vending stands and a bar dismantled at Topo Chico prison

The government of Nuevo León dismantled luxury cells, a bar, 280 vending stands and hundreds of altars to the Santa Muerte at the Topo Chico prison in Monterrey after 49 prisoners died in a riot last Thursday.

The cells were equipped with screens, mini fridges, digital television and even aquariums and a sauna.

Authorities also removed 280 stands that sold groceries and even a bar inside the prison that offered products with surcharges of up to 120 percent, as well as hundreds of altars to the Santa Muerte, a female folk saint that is a personification of death.

Tons of prohibited items, including furniture, appliances and mattresses appliances, were stacked on the court of the prison and removed yesterday by heavy machinery and trucks.