Death toll in Honduras women's prison violence rises to 46

A fight-out between rival gangs at a women’s prison in Honduras left 46dead with most burned to death. The death toll rose from 41 to 46, said theprosecutor's office on Wednesday afterthe first bodies were handed over to mourning families for burial.

Of the previously reported41 dead, 15 were either shot or stabbed, while the rest of the victims were burned to death at the prison in Tamara, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

At least seven inmates were being treated at a Tegucigalpa hospital, Yuri Mora, the spokesperson for Honduras’ national police investigation agency, said on Tuesday, according to AP news agency.

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“The forensic teams that are removing bodies confirm they have counted 41,” Mora had said on Tuesday. However, it is still unclear ifall the victims were inmates.

Prez shocked

President Xiomara Castro said she was shocked by “monstrous murders of women” and added that the riot was “planned by maras with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.”

“I am going to take drastic measures!” Castro wrote in her social media accounts.

The country's Deputy Security Minister, Julissa Villanueva, declared a state of emergency and promised to crack down on the violence.

She also authorised the "immediate intervention" of firefighters, police and military.

"The loss of human lives will not be tolerated," Villanueva said.

Barrio 18 gang

Local media reported that the prisoners belonged to the infamous Barrio 18 gang who broke into a cell block and shot other inmates or set them afire.

Hardly any prison rules are observed in the violence-hit country as inmates are said to wield wider control of the prison.

They were also apparently able to smuggle in guns and other weapons, a recurring problem in Honduran prisons.

A few relatives of the deceased prisoners said that the inmates in the prison had told them that they have been living in fear of the Barrio 18 gang.

“They (Barrio 18 members) were out of control, they were fighting with them all the time. That was the last time we talked,” Johanna Paola Soriano Euceda told AP, who was waiting for news about her mother Maribel Euceda, and sister, Karla Soriano—both serving sentences for drug trafficking.

Ruckus was witnessed outside the prison after another group of dozens of anxious, angry relatives gathered outside.

“We are here dying of anguish, of pain ... we don’t have any information,” said Salomon Garca, whose daughter is an inmate at the facility.

The Central American country is known for corruption and gang violence, which have infiltrated government institutions and seen the homicide rate soar, reports BBC.

Deadly prison riots have been one of the recurring problems in Honduras

In 2019, at least 18 people were killed in gang violenceat a prison in the northern port city of Tela.

(With inputs from agencies)

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