Séamus McElwaine judge describing him as a "dangerous killer" and recommending he spend at least 30 years in prison. On 25 September 1983, McElwaine was involved in the Maze Prison escape, the largest break-out of prisoners in Europe since World War II and in British prison history. 38 republican prisoners, armed with 6 handguns, hijacked a prison meals lorry and smashed their way out of the Maze prison. After the escape he joined an IRA Active Service Unit operating in the area of the border between Counties Monaghan and Fermanagh. The unit targeted police and military patrols with gun and bomb attacks,
Apodaca prison riot liberated 53 Gulf Cartel members using 10 trucks and even a helicopter. 3 inmate escaped from a prison in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca on 13 July 2010. In Morelos, 6 prisoners escaped after killing the prison director on 14 July 2010. 5 federal inmates escaped from a prison in Cancún on 31 December 2010, although authorities reported the incident until 5 January 2011. In Chihuahua, Chihuahua on 11 January 2012, gunmen confronted the prison guards, where 10 inmates were able to escape. In Ahualulco de Mercado, Jalisco, 8 inmates escaped from a prison on 27 April 2011. In Culiacán, Sinaloa on 10