The number of women killed after the fire that occurred on Tuesday in a prison in Támara, north of Tegucigalpa, rose to 46. The tragedy, which occurred as a result of a confrontation between gangs, puts security policies against the scourge of criminal groups and the conditions of detention in the Central American country on the table.
Along with El Salvador and Guatemala, Honduras is part of the so-called “Triangle of Death”, plagued by gangs or maras that control drug trafficking and organized crime.
On Tuesday, June 20, 46 prisoners lost their lives after inmates from the Barrio 18 gang burst into the building where their rivals from the Mara Salvatrucha were located, shooting and then setting it on fire.
What happened in Honduras, one of the countries with the highest level of prison violence that has totaled more than a thousand deaths in 20 years, is not surprising.
“In April, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights already warned of the high levels of corruption in the prison system and the entry of weapons, the lack of security within the prisons,” explains César Muñoz, associate director for the Americas from Human Rights Watch (HRW).
overcrowding
President Xiomara Castro announced drastic measures, including dismissing the Minister of Security, Ramón Visión, and replacing him with the director of the National Police, Gustavo Sánchez.
“Honduras is experiencing a prison crisis and a comprehensive reform is necessary, not patching up,” says Muñoz. “This reform has to address the structural problems of the system: one of them is overcrowding. There are twice as many people in the Honduran prison system as the capacity of the prisons. The guards fail to maintain security inside. People who are detained are in practice forced to join gangs to protect themselves, ”she details.
“Take Back Control”
Prisons are a breeding ground for criminal organizations. “The State has to retake control and offer dignified conditions so that people serve their sentences and so that they can reintegrate into society. That is the objective of the penitentiary system”, concludes the HRW spokesperson.
Last December, the Honduran president declared a state of emergency to deal with gang violence, something that recalls the measures imposed by the government of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador more than a year ago. The actions were less spectacular and did not yield clear results.
Honduras: The death of at least 46 women detained in the Támara prison reveals the crisis of the prison system.
There were plenty of signs that such a tragedy could happen.
I open thread. 1/7
Picture of @jscaphoto, @ContraC_HN pic.twitter.com/V2EDp9QaSH
– César Munoz (@_Cesar_Munoz) June 21, 2023
