Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 28, 2026 – An eighth post-escape search inside Ceinjure Costa Norte recovered razor blades, an improvised point, scissors and cable, extending a six-month record in which every publicly detailed sweep has found prohibited items despite new prison leadership, federal participation and repeated inmate transfers.
State Penitentiary Police carried out the August 25 inspection with the Mexican Army and National Guard. The published inventory included six scissors, four razor blades, one improvised sharp point, nine lighters, four speakers, 11 caps, six garments in prohibited colors, five perfume bottles and about 20 meters of cable.
Teams searched dormitories, common areas, a terrace, gym, corridors, workshops, the dining room and kitchen. The state described the operation as random and part of the continuing security plan adopted after the February 22 escape.
The same categories keep returning
The eighth seizure was smaller than some earlier inventories, but it was not an isolated discovery. The seventh sweep two weeks earlier recovered suspected marijuana residue, six razor blades, screwdrivers, pliers, USB drives, speakers, metal grills, cable and other restricted property.
A sixth inspection in July found apparent marijuana, two hacksaw blades, a hammer, four screwdrivers, a shovel, speakers, antennas, DVD players and cable. The June operation produced 11 sharp points, 15 edged metal pieces, seven scissors, a hammer and a hollowed Bible used to conceal objects.
The April search produced one of the clearest danger inventories. Officers seized 11 marijuana packets or cigarettes, eight pipes, seven improvised knives, 13 sharp points, scissors, pliers, a wrench, a screwdriver and a hacksaw blade.
A March inspection had already found metal points, marijuana, controlled medication, electrical extensions and lighters. Another search reported in May recovered sharp points, a screwdriver, cable, a device charger, wooden sticks and clothing in unauthorized colors.
Read together, the inventories show recurring access to edged metal, drugs, tools, cables and electronics. The public summaries record what officers removed, but they do not identify how the objects reached inmates. No August release linked an item to a visitor, employee, delivery, workshop or other source.
The lists also raise two different control issues. Marijuana appears repeatedly in contraband inventories, while scissors, cable, tools and metal may begin as ordinary property before becoming restricted or altered. Jalisco has not said whether those materials entered improperly, were diverted from authorized areas or were modified inside the prison.
Security changed after February
Jalisco replaced prison director Vladimir Antonio Flores Gutiérrez after the mass escape and appointed Jorge Eduardo Díaz Santana Vázquez on February 28. State officials said the change was meant to strengthen internal control.
Searches have since become recurring joint operations involving penitentiary police and federal forces. Earlier inspections included the Navy, while later deployments have involved the Army and National Guard.
Six inmates were transferred to the Puente Grande prison complex after the March search, and seven suspected violence generators were moved there in May. Repairs to damage from the February assault were still underway in March.
Authorities also conducted a multi-agency crisis drill at the Ixtapa prison in July. Those actions document a change in leadership, more outside participation, repeated removals of restricted property, transfers and emergency practice.
They do not yet provide a public measure of whether access controls have improved. State officials acknowledged in March that the prison lacked substantial staffing, but later inspection summaries have not published an updated staffing level. They also have not detailed changes to gate protection, employee screening, visits, packages, deliveries or workshop inventory controls.
Fifteen escapees remain at large
The security campaign began after armed attackers fired on the facility and a vehicle breached a gate on February 22. Disturbances followed inside, 23 inmates escaped and prison guard Rafael Hernández was killed.
By late July, Jalisco authorities said eight escapees had been recaptured and 15 were still being sought. Two of the three most recently reported arrests occurred in Zacatecas and one in Puerto Vallarta. An earlier fugitive, Michael Anthony Rojas Naranjo, was arrested in Zacatecas in June after an armed confrontation.
The latest publicly reported count remains 15. Nearly six months after the escape, the state continues searching outside the prison while recurring sweeps address risks inside it.
The eighth inspection shows more frequent scrutiny and sustained federal involvement. It also shows that prohibited items have not disappeared. The next concrete test will be whether later searches stop recovering blades, drugs and altered tools, and whether the state reports how seized material entered and what corrective action followed.
