On August 25, 2011, members of the drug cartel Los Zetas set a casino on fire in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, killing 52 people.
The arson attack left over a dozen injured, and over 35 trapped for several hours. Mexican forces, which arrived minutes after the incident, eventually used backhoes to break down the walls and free the trapped victims. Media reports state the majority of those killed were women, including one who was pregnant. Although the government crackdown on the drug cartels dates back to 2006, Monterrey became an increasingly violent city in 2010, due to the rupture between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.
Surveillance footage shows vehicles with gunmen arriving at the entrance of Casino Royale. After the gunmen descended from their vehicles, they stormed the casino's main entrance, opened fire on guests, and doused the casino entrances with gasoline, starting a fire that trapped people inside. The attack was classified as the most violent and bloodiest in the history of Monterrey and one of the worst in the state of Nuevo León.
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