At least 42 people have been killed in clashes between rival gangs at a women’s prison in Honduras. President Castro announced “drastic measures”.
At least 41 women have died in a riot at a women’s prison in Honduras. While most of them were burned, some of the victims were shot, according to Yuri Mora, spokesman for the national police agency.
At least seven detainees were treated for gunshot and knife wounds at a hospital in the capital, Tegucigalpa. A surviving inmate told local media that inmates belonging to the feared gang Barrio 18 broke into a cell block and burned or shot women there.
Response to anti-gang measures?
The riot took place in a prison in Tamara, about 50 kilometers northwest of Tegucigalpa. The head of the Honduran prison system, Julissa Villanueva, said the revolt was in response to measures “we are taking against organized crime”.
Gangs often exercise extensive control in the country’s prisons, with inmates sometimes making their own rules and selling banned goods, for example. The authorities recently tried to take action against it. “We will not give in,” Villanueva said in a television speech after the outbreak of violence.
President announces “drastic measures”.
Dozens of concerned and angry relatives gathered in front of the prison. Salomón García, whose daughter is an inmate at the facility, complained about the lack of information from official bodies. “We are dying here of fear, of pain,” he said.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the uprising was planned by gangs “with the knowledge and connivance of the security authorities”. On her social media accounts, she wrote, “I will take drastic action!”
The uprising could increase pressure on Honduras to follow the zero-tolerance policy in neighboring El Salvador. There, President Nayib Bukele enforced a crackdown on criminals. This anti-gang policy has led to some constitutional rights being overridden in El Salvador. But in a country long terrorized by street gangs, Bukele’s approach is popular.