More than 40 people died in clashes at a women's prison in Honduras

AFP quoted police spokesman Edgardo Barahona as saying that deadly unrest rocked a women's prison in the Tamara district, about 25 km north of the capital Tegucigalpa. Barahona gave the death toll as 41 and said five injured women had been taken to hospital.

Hundreds of relatives of the detained women gathered outside the prison to await news about their loved ones.

Numerous soldiers and police officers, heavily armed, entered and secured the prison, while fire crews were also present at the scene.

Hơn 40 người chết trong hỏa hoạn do đụng độ tại nhà tù nữ ở Honduras - Ảnh 1. — National police are moving prisoners from a women's prison allegedly involved in a fire following clashes between inmates in the Tamara area, about 25 km from the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, on June 20.

According to Delma Ordonez, a representative for the prisoners' relatives, members of a gang broke into a rival group's cell and set it on fire. Ordonez told the media that the area of the prison was "completely destroyed" by the fire. She added that the prison in question held approximately 900 inmates.

Most of the victims died in the fire, according to prosecutor's office spokesman Yuri Mora. He added that an investigation is underway to determine which gang carried out the initial attack.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro wrote on Twitter that she was "shocked" by "the gangs' brutal murder of women in prison in full view of them, yet with the security forces standing idly by."

A state of emergency has been declared, and President Castro says she will hold security leaders accountable for what happened. "I will take drastic measures," Castro stressed.

Honduras is a major transit country for Colombian cocaine and other narcotics, primarily destined for the United States. Honduras is ravaged by corruption and gangs that have infiltrated even the highest levels of government , according to AFP.

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was extradited to the United States on drug charges in April 2022, just over a year after his brother Tony Hernandez was sentenced to life imprisonment in New York.

Along with its neighbors El Salvador and Guatemala, Honduras forms the so-called "triangle of death" in Central America, an area controlled by murderous gangs and involved in drug trafficking and organized crime.

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