Honduras prison violence: At least 41 killed in women's jail riot

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Honduras prison violence: At least 41 killed in women's jail riot

20 June 2023

By Katy Watson & Kathryn Armstrong
in Sao Paulo & London

At least 41 people have been killed in a riot at a women's prison in Honduras on Tuesday.

It is understood that a fight broke out between rival gangs, after which one gang set a cell alight.

Officials say the fire caused the majority of the deaths but some of the victims were shot.

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

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-65969092

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Heard about this on BBC radio. The mind continues to boggle.

[TexasTowelie]

2. Video from Al Jazeera:

[Judi Lynn]

3. Former director of Honduran jail where 46 women were massacred claims prisoners pay guards $3,500 br

Former director of Honduran jail where 46 women were massacred claims prisoners pay guards $3,500 bribes to smuggle in guns - as one survivor recalls inmates screaming for help while engulfed in flames

René Cruz was once in charge of the Women's Center for Social Adaptation in Támara, Honduras, and revealed guards were bribed by inmates

The prisoners paid as much up to $3,500 to have grenades, guns and rifles smuggled into the jail

The prison was the site of a massacre Tuesday morning that left 46 inmates dead

By ADRY TORRES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 16:25 EDT, 22 June 2023 | UPDATED: 17:34 EDT, 22 June 2023

The former director of the Honduran jail where 46 female inmates were massacred on Tuesday has revealed how guards are bribed look the other way so prisoners can smuggle in grenades, guns, rifles and other contraband.

His comments come as one of the prisoners who survived the gruesome gang attack described the ordeal as 'hell'.

The detainee, who was not harmed, recalled hearing other inmates, who were locked in their cells, crying for help as they were covered in flames.

'The minutes were eternal, we just wanted to save ourselves,' she said. 'The fellow prisoners could not get out and died. It was living hell,' she said.

René Cruz, who was once in charge of the Women's Center for Social Adaptation in the northwestern city of Támara, said inmates pay up to $3,000 to sneak in grenades and between $3,200 to $3,500 for rifles.

'It generates wealth that is illegal and quite high,' Cruz said, as quoted by La Tribuna on Wednesday.

More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12223853/Inmates-paid-3-500-sneak-rifles-Honduran-jail-46-women-massacred.html

[Judi Lynn]

4. Fear stalks the funerals of victims of Honduras prison massacre

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 16:55 EDT, 22 June 2023 | UPDATED: 17:00 EDT, 22 June 2023

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Fear simmered among the small knot of relatives gathered Thursday for the wake of a mother and daughter who were among 46 female inmates slaughtered in this week´s prison riot in Honduras.

Relatives wept openly, but said they feared the Barrio 18 gang that carried out the massacre might come after the victims´ families as well.

Rumors circulated among those at the wake that gang members had kidnapped women from the funeral of another victim.

One mourner, who wouldn't give his name, said Thursday "we are afraid."

Mourner Johanna Soriano Euceda said "the pain we are feeling is enormous," after her mother, Maribel Euceda Brevé, 51, and her sister Karla Soriano Euceda, 38, were killed in the attack on Tuesday. Both had been imprisoned on drug charges,

One woman, who also asked that her name not be used, wept beside the two coffins holding her sister-in-law and her niece, which stood on the street in front of their home in a poor neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, the capital.

More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-12224733/Fear-stalks-funerals-victims-Honduras-prison-massacre.html