A riot at a women’s prison in Honduras leaves one dead and one injured
At least 41 women died and five were injured at the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation (Cefas).a women’s prison in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, during a riot between gangs that took place on Tuesday the 20th, according to a police source. “There have been preliminary reports of 41 deaths” at a prison 25 km north of the capital, said Edgardo Barahona, police spokesman. The wounds were taken to the Teaching Hospital in Tegucigalpa. Deputy Security Minister Julissa Villanueva declared a state of emergency. “We will not tolerate vandalism or irregularities in this prison. Immediate intervention with the help of firefighters, police and military will be authorized and an emergency will be declared,” Villanueva tweeted.
Delma Ordóñez, president of an association of prisoners’ relatives, told the local press that the victims were members of Mara Salvatrucha, suggesting that the attack was carried out by members of a rival gang, Barrio 18. “The module is The prison was completely destroyed and completely burned down,” Ordóñez said, adding that the prison houses about 900 inmates. Villanueva was appointed to the post after several clashes broke out at four prisons in April, killing one and injuring seven.
The deputy minister immediately announced a plan to control the country’s 26 prisons, which house about 20,000 inmates. The plan includes “true disarmament through permanent manual and electronic searches of 100% of facilities” and “total cell signal blocking” to prevent prisoners from ordering criminal acts from inside the prison. According to authorities, jailed organized crime leaders direct extortion, kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking and other crimes from their cells.
*With information from AFP