Virus Kills Feared Gang Leader

Scores of other cases reported in same prison
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 11, 2020 4:33 PM CDT
Virus Kills Feared Gang Leader
Sldiers patrol outside the Regional Center for Social Reintegration in Cieneguillas, Mexico.   (AP Photo/Oscar Baez, File)

Mexican gang leader Moises Escamiilla May—also known as "Fat May"—has died from COVID-19 in a maximum security prison. The 45-year-old kingpin of the "Old School Zetas" group, part of the Los Zetas cartel, was 12 years into a 37-year sentence for crimes including his role in the 2008 decapitation of a dozen people, the BBC reports. He was being held at the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco state, where at least 74 other coronavirus cases have been reported. Mexico has reported around 35,000 coronavirus cases, with 3,465 deaths, though the low testing rate means the true totals are probably much higher, reports Reuters. The Mexican government says that according to its models, the pandemic likely reached its peak in the country over the weekend. (More Mexico stories.)

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