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Associated Press

A grisly riot at a women’s prison in Honduras Tuesday left at least 41 women dead, most burned to death, in violence the country’s president blamed on “mara” street gangs that often wield broad power inside penitentiaries.
Twenty-six of the victims were burned to death and the remainder shot or stabbed at the prison in Tamara, about 50km (30 miles) northwest of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, said Yuri Mora, the spokesman for Honduras’ national police investigation agency.
At least seven inmates were being treated at a Tegucigalpa hospital.
“The forensic teams that are removing bodies confirm they have counted 41,” said Mora.

Video clips shown by the government from inside the prison showed several pistols and a heap of machetes and other bladed weapons that were found after the riot.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the riot was “planned by maras with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities”.
‘Dictator of El Salvador’ basks in popularity as he wages war on gangs
“I am going to take drastic measures!” Castro wrote in her social media accounts.
Prisoners belonging to the feared Barrio 18 gang reportedly burst into a cell block and shot other inmates or set them afire.
Relatives awaiting news about inmates gathered outside the morgue in Tegucigalpa. They confirmed that inmates in the prison had told them they lived in fear of the Barrio 18 gang.
Johanna Paola Soriano Euceda was waiting for news about her mother Maribel Euceda, and sister, Karla Soriano. Both were on trial for drug trafficking, but were held in the same area as convicted prisoners.
Soriano Euceda said they had told her on Sunday that “they (Barrio 18 members) were out of control, they were fighting with them all the time. That was the last time we talked.”
Another group of dozens of anxious, angry relatives gathered outside the prison.

“We are here dying of anguish, of pain ... we don’t have any information,” said Salomon Garcia, whose daughter is an inmate at the facility.
Azucena Martinez, whose daughter was also being held at the prison, said “there are a lot of dead, 41 already. We don’t know if our relatives are also in there, dead”.
Julissa Villanueva, head of the country’s prison system, suggested the riot started because of recent attempts by authorities to crack down on illicit activity inside prisons and called Tuesday’s violence a reaction to moves “we are taking against organised crime”.
At least 12 inmates killed in fresh Ecuador prison clashes
“We will not back down,” Villanueva said in a televised address after the riot.
Gangs wield broad control inside the country’s prisons, where inmates often set their own rules and sell prohibited goods.
They were also apparently able to smuggle in guns and other weapons, a recurring problem in Honduran prisons.


“The issue is to prevent people from smuggling in drugs, grenades and firearms,” said Honduran human rights expert Joaquin Mejia. “Today’s events show that they have not been able to do that.”
The riot appears to be the worst tragedy at a female detention centre in Central America since 2017, when girls at a shelter for troubled youths in Guatemala set fire to mattresses to protest rapes and other mistreatment at the badly overcrowded institution. The ensuing smoke and fire killed 41 girls.
The worst prison disaster in a century also occurred in Honduras, in 2012 at the Comayagua penitentiary, where 361 inmates died in a fire possibly caused by a match, cigarette or some other open flame.
Tuesday’s riot may increase the pressure on Honduras to emulate the drastic zero-tolerance, no-privileges prisons set in up in neighbouring El Salvador by President Nayib Bukele.
While El Salvador’s crackdown on gangs has given rise to rights violations, it has also proved immensely popular in a country long terrorised by street gangs.


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Americas and the Caribbean

At least 41 women die in Honduras prison riot blamed on ‘mara’ gangs

Prison guards watch inmates at the Women’s Centre for Social Adaptation prison in Honduras on Tuesday following a brawl between rival gangs. Photo: AFP

Relatives of inmates in distress outside the prison. Photo: AP

Police and military outside the prison. Photo: EPA-EFE

‘Dictator of El Salvador’ basks in popularity as he wages war on gangs

Inmates belonging to the MS-13 and 18 gangs that arrived at a new prison, dubbed the ‘Terrorist Confinement Centre’ in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Photo:  Salvadorean Presidency via AFP

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Photo: 

Inmates belonging to the MS-13 and 18 gangs inside the ‘Terrorist Confinement Centre’ in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Photo Salvadorean Presidency via AFP

Riot in Ecuador prison leaves 44 dead, dozens on the run

Bellavista prison has been brought back under control, police said. Photo: Ecuadorean Interior Ministry

Inmates shout from inside Bellavista prison where a deadly riot broke out. Photo: AP

Soldiers at the prison. Photo: EPA-EFE

At least 52 die in Colombia prison riot fire after mattresses set alight

The riot and fire was one of the worst incidents of recent prison violence in the country. Photo: AP

The prison in Tulua, Colombia. Photo: AFP

News

World

Americas

Honduras president vow to take ‘drastic measures’ after violent clashes between rival gangs leaves dozens dead in prison
Central America nation is plagued by murderous ‘mara’ gangs that control drug trafficking and organised crime


Honduras’ president vow to take ‘drastic measures’ after a grisly riot at a women’s prison left dozens of women dead, most burned to death, others shot or stabbed.


Honduras

Crime

Guatemala

At least 41 women die in Honduras prison riot blamed on ‘mara’ gangs

Honduras president vow to take ‘drastic measures’ after violent clashes between rival gangs leaves dozens dead in prison Central America nation is plagued by murderous ‘mara’ gangs that control drug trafficking and organised crime

Honduras president vow to take ‘drastic measures’ after violent clashes between rival gangs leaves dozens dead in prison

Central America nation is plagued by murderous ‘mara’ gangs that control drug trafficking and organised crime