Honduras military takes over prisons
Last week armed clashes between rival gangs in a women’s prison in Honduras left 46 people dead – many of those killed were burned to death. In response, the country’s military has started taking control of its prison system – military police swept through several prisons yesterday, emptying cell blocks and releasing videos showing tattooed inmates sitting cross-legged and half-naked in tight rows with their arms over their heads – a similar playbook to the harsh tactics used in neighbouring El Salvador. They seized pistols, machine guns, ammunition, magazines and grenades. In Honduras, around 20,000 prisoners live in 26 overcrowded prisons – the prison system has an overcapacity of 150 per cent.
Photograph Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images