Honduran Military Seizes Prisons in Gang Crackdown

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Facts

  • Following an attack at the Tamara Penal Center women's prison last week that left 46 dead, the Honduran Armed Forces launched what it's calling "Operation Faith and Hope," with soldiers taking control of the nation's prisons to crack down on gang violence.1
  • Last week's attack involved members of the Barrio 18 street gang, who smuggled in guns, machetes, and a flammable liquid before subduing the prison guards, breaking into the cells of rival gang members, and shooting and hacking them to death.2
  • Though the massacre took place at the women's prison, the military seems to have focused on the men, with footage showing tattoo-covered inmates shirtless with their hands over their heads as heavily-armed soldiers monitored them.3
  • They also searched the women's prison, where they found grenades, high-caliber weapons, ammunition, cell phones, and devices for internet access. Colonel Fernando Munoz said the military will "control it and there will be no calls coming out of here to order extortions or executions."4
  • Pres. Xiomara Castro had denounced the gang violence as "monstrous" and promised to take "drastic action," announcing last week that the military would control 21 of the country's 26 prisons. Her new, left-leaning administration had also declared a gang violence state of emergency in December, but to no avail.1
  • The scenes in Honduras, where the UN says prisons are 32.4% over capacity, are similar to those seen in El Salvador recently. In that country, 5K soldiers were sent to a small town to hunt down police-killing gang members.3

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Sky News, 3Human Events, and 4Archive.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Archive. The Honduran prison system has been broken for a long time, under both the previous conservative regime and its progressive successor. Due to overcapacity and little focus on rehabilitation, these jails have become unsupervised and chaotic spaces where prisoners are at the mercy of unofficial inmate leaders. Instead of implementing harsher punishments or building more prisons, the government should be investing in improving its existing prisons and providing a rehabilitative atmosphere.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Despite incorrect statements made by journalists and nongovernmental organizations, most Hondurans — from bipartisan politicians to average citizens — want their government to implement an El Salvador-style crackdown on gangs. Government corruption certainly exists, but the primary goal for the nation at this time should be eradicating the epidemic of lawlessness and violence.