It was officially a Mexican prison, but inside it hid a dark reality. Piedras Negras' state prison had become a center of operations for the Zetas drug cartel, and they used the prison to modify vehicles, manufacture uniforms, to house kidnapped victims and cremate bodies.

A report released Tuesday by two university professors who specialize in human rights brings to light how one of Mexico's bloodiest criminal organizations took complete control of the state prison in 2010 and 2011 without any resistance from state officials.

The report is based on a series of witness statements, official documents, and public data. It takes a closer look at the use of the Piedras Negras prison as "key to the business and terror framework" of the cartel.

The investigation, which was conducted by Sergio Aguayo and Jacobo Dayan includes more than 1,500 pages and describes surreal life inside the prison.

According to the report, the prison's Zeta boss, a former policeman who was not identified in the story, regularly left the jail escorted by guards to have coffee, shoot at people "just for fun" and have sex with the wives of other prisoners. He had 34 close associates inside the prison and 58 inmates making uniforms and modifying vehicles.

The Daily News reports, "some victims arrived alive and were killed on site with a shot or hammer blow to the head. Others were dismembered and burned immediately below a guard tower, which was controlled by the Zetas through threats and punishments."

The most paying job at $300 a night, was to get rid of bodies. “When they cooked up people, they would get smaller, and they would hit them with a metal bar until there was nothing left ... (later) they would tip over the barrel to dump what was left on the ground...and the truth is there was very little," the unidentified Zeta boss is quoted as saying in December 2014.

Testimony from recent trials of Zeta members in Texas suggests about 150 bodies were disposed of inside the prison. Remains were dumped at nearby locations, including a river and a soccer field.

The International Criminal Court has not issued a decision about whether it will investigate if crimes against humanity were committed in Coahuila.

Source: nydailynews.com