[1] In 2009, the prison was the location of a high-profile escape that freed 53 inmates; a state official, speaking in 2019, said that steps had been taken to improve security after that event.

[2] It is reportedly not known how weapons entered the prison,[2] but speculation from a state official suggested they could have been smuggled during visitation earlier the same day.

[4] It is believed that the riot broke out due to fighting between different cartels,[1] while local media reported that it was a dispute over a football game[3] where old rivalries became inflamed again.

[8] This riot was stopped more quickly; the prison's panic button had been immediately set off, with the state police and ambulance service alerted to the scene.

[8] An investigation was begun into various staff at the prison working shifts around the first riot.

[3] On 1 January, state officials said they increased the security inside and around the prison, and 120 inmates were relocated to prevent more rioting.

[9] Elian Peltier of The New York Times said that it was "one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the country's troubled penal system for years".