This Tattooed Narcocat Just Got A Second Chance After Prison Life
The Sphinx has several tattoos on his body made by his sick owners behind bars.
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, México.— A sphinx cat who had lived half of its life inside a Mexican prison in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez -right across El Paso, Texas- just got a second chance in life.
The Sphinx, originally owned by the violent local gang of Los Mexicles, affiliated to the Sinaloa Cartel, was tattooed in prison with gang symbols, including an ‘Hecho En México’ (Made in Mexico) tattoo, used by ‘Los Mexicles’
Authorities seized the cat in February 2023 after a massive prison break that left ten prison guards killed and 25 members of ‘Los Mexicles’ on the loose, including its leader, Ernesto Piñón, known as ‘El Neto’, who was killed days after by Mexican authorities.
In a previous raid days earlier, authorities found a mechanical bull, several TV’s and a tunnel that allowed gang members to go in and out of prison at their will and from where drugs, arms and money were smuggled in, according to the government.
The Sphinx was turned over to the local animal rescue center in Ciudad Juárez for his recovery and health evaluation and eventually put up for adoption.
Authorities vetted several people looking to adopt the cat and finally decided to hand it over to a family in San Antonio, Texas, where he now lives his second life.
The family called him Keelo, and recently shared images of the cat where he looks healthy and well taken care of.
Local authorities in Ciudad Juárez said they decided to allow the Texas family to adopt ‘Keelo’ after they showed that they own another Sphinx.
“The cat has a new life and he seems to be in perfect shape. We handed over the cat already spayed and he is now an American,” Animal Shelter director in Ciudad Juárez, César Díaz, told LUIS.
Los Mexicles formed in the border city in 2009, allied with the Sinaloa Cartel against the rival Juárez Cartel and its armed wing, Los Aztecas. Since then the gang has grown to over 10,000 members, according to Chihuahua’s state authorities, and has become one of the most violent gangs in the state in which Ciudad Juarez sits.
Los Mexicles were allegedly responsible for ordering a series of attacks on civilians in Ciudad Juárez in August, after another escape attempt from the same prison. At least ten people were killed during that incident, including a pregnant woman who was burned alive inside a convenience store and four staff members of a local radio station.
Los Mexicles control some of the border city’s street drug sales, arms and drugs trafficking and kidnapping markets, according to news reports.
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