A riot that erupted inside a women’s prison in Honduras has left more than 41 women dead. On Tuesday, authorities arrived at the prison in the city of Tamara to find the bodies of the deceased women.
Workers at the prison said the victims died from gun shot wounds or burns and that some had been taken to a hospital in the capital, Tegucigalpa, to be treated for their injuries.
Families of the inmates have congregated outside the prison, demanding to know the condition of their loved one.
According to the president of an association for prisoners’ families, riots broke out between two rival gangs.
The head of the country’s prison system, Julissa Villanueva, called the horror that unfolded on Tuesday a result of “the actions we are taking against organised crime,” and blamed recent attempts by authorities to stifle illicit activity inside the prisons as the trigger for the brawls.
In a televised address after the violence, Villanueva said “We will not back down.”
Honduras’ President Xiomara Castro, the country’s first female leader, conveyed her shock on Twitter, describing the incident as the “monstrous murder” of inmates by gang members.
“Solidarity with the families,” she tweeted.” I summon the Minister of Security and the president of the Intervention Commission to render accounts. I will take drastic measures!”
The violence on Tuesday comes six years after a fire at San José Pinula children’s shelter left 41 girls dead, and 11 years since a fire at Comayagua penitentiary left 361 inmates dead.