The Acapulco Prison That Was Basically a Resort

In February 2011, Mexican authorities decided to conduct a surprise inspection of the men's prison in Acapulco, officially known as CERESO. What they found inside made international headlines—and made everyone wonder who was actually running the place.

A Shopping List Nobody Expected

The contraband inventory read like a fever dream. Officials discovered:

• 100 plasma screen televisions
• 2 peacocks (yes, the birds)
• 100 fighting cockerels
• 2 sacks of marijuana
• 19 prostitutes
• Slot machines and other gambling equipment
• Dozens of homemade knives
• DVD players, refrigerators, and cooking equipment

The peacocks remain unexplained to this day. Were they pets? Status symbols? Nobody really knows.

How Does This Even Happen?

The answer lies in Mexico's prison crisis. Overcrowding and underfunding meant guards were drastically outnumbered by inmates. In many facilities, powerful gang leaders essentially took control, running their criminal empires from behind bars while enjoying amenities that would make hotel guests jealous.

Corruption played its part too. Guards earning meager wages were easily bribed. Some estimates suggested that up to 90% of Mexican prison guards had accepted payments from inmates at some point.

Not Even the Worst Example

Remarkably, the Acapulco prison wasn't unique. A raid on a prison in Ciudad Juárez around the same time found inmates had constructed an entire bar, complete with a stripper pole. Another facility had inmates operating a taco stand that served the surrounding neighborhood.

The Acapulco raid did spark reforms—temporarily. Authorities transferred inmates, replaced guards, and installed new security measures. But Mexico's prison problems ran deeper than any single raid could fix.

The fighting cockerels, incidentally, were confiscated and sent to an animal sanctuary. Their fate was arguably better than many of the inmates who'd kept them.

The Bigger Picture

This bizarre discovery highlighted a serious issue: when prisons become more comfortable than life outside, they lose their deterrent effect. Gang leaders were reportedly requesting to be sent to certain prisons known for their lax conditions.

For the rest of us, the Acapulco raid remains a reminder that reality is often stranger than fiction. No screenwriter would pitch a prison with peacocks and plasma TVs. Nobody would believe it.

But there they were—two confused peacocks, surrounded by a hundred roosters, wondering how they ended up in a Mexican prison.