The death toll in an attack on a prison in Juarez (a Mexican border town) has risen to 19.

The attack allowed a cartel kingpin and two dozen other prisoners to escape.

The attack was launched by an armed group that traveled in armored vehicles and launched nearly simultaneous attacks on the prison and municipal police station.

Federal authorities were brought into the border town were brought in to quell unrest. State authorities are under fire for a number of decisions, including a “VIP zone” in the state-run prison where drugs and money were allowed to flourish.

Defense Minister Luis Crescencio Sandoval said, “that’s the state’s responsibility because federal authorities can’t intervene in these places.”

Additionally, the feds say that high-risk prisoners such as “El Neto” (Ernesto Alfredo Pinon de la Cruz, a dangerous cartel kingpin) were never requested to transfer to a less-crowded and higher-security facility.

State authorities in Chihuahua have promised to clean out the corruption they believe led to the landscape which allowed the attack and are responsible for the 19 deaths.