Close to 50 women have been killed following rioting and fires at a Honduran women’s prison, sources have confirmed.
On Wednesday, a government representative said that among those dead are inmates, although it is not clear whether some civilians have been killed in the riots.
The prosecutor’s office further stated that some of the victims’ remains have been “charred or reduced” to ash, making it difficult to identify loved ones with missing family members, Yuri Mora, a spokesperson at the office, told Al Jazeera.
The riots allegedly broke out after a group of gang members forcibly entered Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social – the prison that is currently controlled by a rival faction – then shot people and lit the institution on fire. The prison can hold up to 900 inmates.
Police say the shooting and burning has been one of the deadliest instances of prison violence in the country’s history and highlight the power gangs hold in the country. It also raises questions about possible weaknesses within law enforcement and the stronghold of corruption in the country.
Many parts of the prison, located 12 miles away from Honduras’ capital, Tegucigalpa, have been destroyed. A spokeswoman for the Forensic Medicine Directorate, Issa Alvarado, said that of those dead, 23 bodies have been identified and given to families.
“Everything goes unpunished,” said one relative whose wife and two sisters were killed in the riots. Speaking to Reuters, Angel Garcia said that he condemns corruption in the prisons.
Meanwhile, Julissa Villanueva, the head of the penal system, said the attack may be traced to recent governmental efforts to fight corruption.
President Xiomara Castro said she is “shocked” by the “monstrous murder of women…by gangs in full view and tolerance of security authorities.”
She has since fired Security Minister Ramon Sabillon and is scheduled to announce new efforts to combat organized crime.
