The World Briefly

June 28, 2023

The Scourge

Honduras

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The Honduran government launched a major crackdown on organized crime within the country’s penal system following an attack last week that was labeled as one of Honduras’ deadliest prison riots in recent memory, Al Jazeera reported.

On Monday, Honduran armed forces began raids at the Tamara Penal Center, as part of an initiative dubbed “Operation Faith and Hope.” Authorities found high-caliber weapons, explosives and cell phones within the prison walls.

Although these searches took place at a men’s prison, they were not too far from the site where 46 female prisoners were killed last week.

On June 20, violence broke out at a female detention center in Tamara between women from the Barrio 18 street gang and their rivals in the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) group. Authorities said Barrio 18 members were able to infiltrate a rival cell block with guns, machetes and flammable liquids.

Days after the riot, gunmen killed at least 11 people at a pool hall in Choloma, a manufacturing hub linked to Barrio 18 gang. Officials speculate that the shooting was connected to the prison deaths.

The recent events shocked the Central American country, with President Xiomara Castro condemning the violence as “monstrous.”

Castro promised to take “drastic action” in the wake of the prison clash: Last week, she announced that the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) will take control of most of the country’s 26 prisons to suppress organized crime.

Observers described the announcement as an about-face for Castro, who sought to demilitarize certain aspects of public security after she came to power last year.

Even so, Castro’s administration has faced scrutiny for not doing enough to end gang-related violence in Honduras.

In December, she declared a state of emergency to address the issue, but critics noted that it has failed to dampen the violence.

This story originally appeared in the June 28, 2023 newsletter, A Voice, a Divide.