Investigators say a deadly riot which broke out at a women’s prison in Honduras was carefully planned by rival gangs.
Police have now started the process of handing over the bodies of many of the victims to their relatives.
A spokesman for Honduras‘ national police investigation agency said some were so badly burned they need genetic testing or dental studies to identify them.
Authorities said this was a carefully planned massacre of supposed rival gang members by inmates belonging to the notorious Barrio 18 street gang.
What happened?
On Tuesday, members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang slaughtered 46 female inmates.
The gang members were able to arm themselves with pistols and machetes, brush past guards and attack.
The inmates were then sprayed with gunfire, and hacked with machetes – those that survived were locked in cells and doused with flammable liquid.
The aftermath is the massacre led to calls for change to the country’s prison system and even talk of whether Honduras should emulate the drastic zero-tolerance, no-privileges prisons set up in neighbouring El Salvador by President Nayib Bukele.
“One of the gave dangers is the Bukele-ization of security problem in this country, with everything that would imply,” said Honduran human rights expert Joaquin Mejia.
After the riot, officials also found 18 pistols, an assault rifle, two machine pistols and two grenades were found in the prison after the riot – which were all smuggled into the facility.
What has been said about the riot?
Jessica Sánchez, an activist with the Civil Society Group, a human rights organization, told the AP news agency they believe the massacre “was carried out on orders from a criminal network, and I am sure it was known beforehand, and nothing was done.”
President Xiomara Castro said the riot at the prison in Tamara was “planned by maras [street gangs] with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.”
Ms Castro said she has now ordered that all of the country’s 21 prisons be placed for one year under the control of the military police, who will be asked to train 2,000 new guards.
No immediate plan to improve prison conditions were announced by Ms Castro.
The state of the prison remains overcrowded with crumbling facilities, poorly trained guards and lax security.
The people no longer trust that the government to get it right this time.
Roberto Cruz, 54, who runs a small retail outlet in the capital said: “We demand an international investigation that can really look at the issue of prisons and women.”
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Who are the Borrio 18 gang?
According to InSight Crime, the 18th Street Gang, also known as Barrio 18 is one of the largest youth gangs.
They first emerged as a small-time street gang in Los Angeles.
While some accounts trace its origins back to the late 1950s – the gang is said take its current form in the 1980s after splitting from the Clanton 14 gang.
Gang members from the Barrio 18 have been accused of committing crimes such as vandalism, drug trafficking, assault, arson, robbery, murder, fraud and much more.
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The riot’s death toll has surpassed that of a fire at a female detention centre in Guatemala in 2017.
Girls at a shelter for troubled youths set fire to mattresses to protest rapes and other mistreatment.
The smoke and fire led to the death of 41 girls.
