More than six months after Latin America’s deadliest female prison massacre, the Honduran government is slowly moving forward in its investigation into the atrocity. But the country still lacks comprehensive security reforms.
In January, Honduras’ Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Life (Fiscalía Especial de Delitos Contra la Vida de Honduras – FEDC) indicted nine Barrio 18 gang members for their alleged participation in the June 2023 massacre of 46 women at the National Penitentiary for Female Social Adaptation (Penitenciaría Nacional Femenina de Adaptación Social – PNFAS) – the first steps toward bringing the perpetrators of the massacre to justice.
In the document, prosecutors alleged that Barrio 18 members subdued four prison officials, took away their keys, and locked them up, thereby gaining access to the parts of the jail where their victims – about half of whom were allegedly linked to rival gang the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS13) – were held.
SEE ALSO: The Timebomb That Exploded Twice: Behind the Massacres in Honduras’ Women’s Prison
Authorities also said the gang members had access to a flammable liquid used to set fire to Module 1, where most of the MS13 members were housed, and employed a variety of weapons in the attack, including pistols, rifles, and submachine guns, along with one firearm belonging to police.
Shortly after the indictment was filed, a judge ordered authorities to hold the nine accused gang members in pre-trial detention ahead of charges being brought against them for their alleged role in the massacre. It marked a breakthrough in the slow-moving investigation, which had been hindered by a lack of resources and personnel, prosecutors told Honduran media.
Still, any progress in the investigation into the massacre appears not to have been accompanied by systemic changes required to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Prison authorities at the PNFAS have ignored security concerns in female prisons for years, an InSight Crime investigation into the massacre found. Specifically in this case, they failed to take adequate measures to address rising tensions between gangs, despite a history of extreme violence in the prison and reports of threats against several detained women.
During our investigation, we saw clear evidence that the Barrio 18 exerted control over the prison. When InSight Crime visited the PNFAS for a week in April 2023, for example, some women linked to Barrio 18 walked freely through the corridors. The Barrio 18 had also set up a surveillance system with members positioned in strategic posts to keep an eye on rivals and other prisoners.
The investigation into the massacre seems to back up this assertion. While the investigation challenges the idea of unfettered access to the entire prison, the Barrio 18 did reach their desired target area. What’s more, the gang also had access to high-powered firearms.
Still, prison authorities seem reluctant to take even minimal responsibility for the massacre. No guards have been charged. And in December, after InSight Crime asked the Attorney General’s Office whether prosecutors were investigating the role of PNFAS officials in the massacre, authorities told us the investigation was ongoing and details could not be shared.
The Return of the Military Police
The Honduran government has taken drastic measures to address the security crisis in its prisons.
In June 2023, following the massacre at the PNFAS, President Xiomara Castro transferred control of the prisons to the Military Police of Public Order (Policía Militar de Orden Público – PMOP). A state of exception enacted by Castro in December 2022 had previously given the military public security responsibilities.
The recent history of the PMOP’s management of prisons is not good. It oversaw the penitentiary system between December 2019 and March 2022. In May 2020, suspected members of the Barrio 18 killed 6 other prisoners in the PNFAS. And in early 2022, shortly after taking office, President Castro removed the PMOP from prison management amid accusations of human rights violations.
Still, there are some prison employees who say the return of military intervention has helped improve security in the prison.
“Now everything is very good, very calm,” a PNFAS worker, who asked not to be named because she was not authorized to speak, told InSight Crime by phone in December 2023.
But others say the strategy has been accompanied by abuses and increased repression. For example, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented mistreatment and the excessive use of force by military personnel against prisoners.
These accusations were echoed by Rihanna Ferrera, director of the Cozumel Trans Organization (Organización Cozumel Trans), who has spent more than a decade defending prisoner rights in Honduras.
She stressed the relationship between the PMOP and the women in the PNFAS is far from harmonious and that there is no trust between the two parties.
“The relationship is based on fear. That is why the military exercises control through bullying, beatings, and torture … When this is used as political propaganda, it fosters hatred in society towards the prison population,” she said
Ferrera also said the military has significantly reduced visits, phone communications, and recreational activities at the PNFAS. She added that family members have been prohibited from bringing personal items to imprisoned women, including medications and baby formula.
The daughter of an elderly prisoner, who is not associated with a gang and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the restrictions contributed to her mother receiving delayed access to medical care after she suffered a serious health crisis.
“There seems to be no threat from [gang members] anymore, but all the women are very restricted … For what a few did, they all have to pay,” she said.
The source added that family members have also faced abuse during the infrequent visitor hours since the military retook control of the prisons – a common experience for relatives, according to Ferrera.
“The military intervention has been plagued by human rights violations and inhumane treatment,” Ferrera told InSight Crime.
Gang Segregation
Following the PNFAS massacre, authorities separated MS13 and Barrio 18 members into different prisons. This measure has been used in the past but has also failed to prevent extreme violence from recurring.
Between July and October 2023, around 76 women allegedly linked to the MS13 were transferred from the PNFAS to a prison in Ilama, in the department of Santa Barbara, the National Penitentiary Institute (Instituto Nacional Penitenciario – INP) told InSight Crime in response to an information request.
These women had been housed in Module 1 of the PNFAS, which was destroyed after Barrio 18 members set it ablaze during the June 2023 massacre. They were then placed in a temporary compound lacking basic infrastructure and services.
SEE ALSO: The Prison Dilemma: Latin America’s Incubators of Organized Crime
“[They were] in horrible conditions. [They] didn’t even [have] access to hygiene products or sanitary pads,” a source from the INP, who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the subject, told InSight Crime shortly after the transfers began in July last year.
Ferrera has been following the situation and told InSight Crime the Ilama prison requires upgrades to accommodate the women’s needs.
Meanwhile, the gang members who allegedly perpetrated the massacre, as well as other women from the Barrio 18, remain in the PNFAS. The gang members are housed in modules used exclusively for them, away from the general population, according to the PNFAS worker interviewed by InSight Crime.
What’s more, evidence suggests Barrio 18 operations in the PNFAS have continued despite the measures imposed by Honduran authorities. At the end of November, authorities found notes carrying extortion threats that were set to leave the prison. And in September, police thwarted an attempt to bring in weapons, money, and cell phones, according to local press reports.
*Helen Montoya contributed reporting for this article.
Featured image: Honduras has moved slowly in bringing those responsible for the PNFAS massacre, which claimed 46 lives, to justice. Source: El Heraldo