In an alarming incident Tuesday, gang members in a women’s prison in Honduras slaughtered at least 46 inmates during a riot, attacking them with machetes and firearms and then trapping survivors in their cells and dousing them with flammable liquid, according to an official statement released on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reports the heinous act of violence erupted within the prison walls as heavily armed members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang successfully overwhelmed guards and launched a brutal assault against their rivals, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), police spokesperson Miguel Martinez said in a televised statement. Both gangs have long been engaged in a long-standing battle to control the drug trade and extortion activities. This ongoing conflict has made Central America one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
President Xiomara Castro called the attack “monstrous.” At the same time, Julissa Villanueva, who is in charge of the prisons, described the riot as a “terrorist attack,” suggesting that it was a well-planned and serious incident. In total, 18 pistols, an assault rifle, two machine pistols and two grenades were found to have been smuggled into the prison.
Disturbingly, gang members managed to obtain the prohibited weapons effortlessly and bypass guards to launch their evil attack. What’s even more disturbing, the gang carried locks, which they intended to trap their victims inside to burn them alive. The resulting fire left the cell walls charred and reduced beds to twisted piles of metal. A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office said many victims were “charred or reduced” to ash, making the identification process challenging.
According to the AP, distraught relatives of the victims revealed that their loved ones had been living in constant fear for weeks, enduring threats from members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang.
