41 people died in a fight in a Honduran women’s prison

At least 41 people died and seven more were injured in the fight and fire that occurred this Tuesday in Center for Social Adaptation of Women (Cefas) near the capital Honduras, which is why the security authorities ordered an emergency intervention.

Spokesman of the State Ministry Jurij Morahe confirmed to reporters that “so far 41 prisoners have died, most of them were burned”, but the final figure will not be known until the removal of the bodies is completed.

So far, no authority National Penitentiary (INP) of Honduras reported the number of dead or injured.

President of the association Association of Relatives of Deprived of Liberty, Delma Ordóñezhe told reporters that there was a fight and a fire on Brush they allegedly took place after the authorities announced new rules inside the prison.

Deputy Minister of Security, Julissa Villanuevaordered “immediate intervention” at the prison after a state of emergency was declared over the fight and assured authorities that “we will not tolerate vandalism or irregularities.”

Villanueva told reporters there was a fight “product of organized crime” in response to the intervention announced by the authorities in Ilam prisons, in Santa Bárbara, in the west of the country, and La Ceiba, in the Caribbean.

It was in Kefa “vandalism has started again, and women with guns and balaclavas set fires”but the fire was already under control by the Honduran fire department, said Villanueva, who was appointed by Honduran President Xiomara Castro to lead the intervention in the country’s prisons.

On April 18, the Honduran authorities announced a series of measures to restore order in the country’s prisons, which include the blocking of mobile calls, the outright disarming of prisoners and the classification of inmates according to danger.

Since April, a dozen shootings or conflicts have been recorded in Honduran prisons, where there is overcrowding and overcrowding, adequate and safe physical facilities for the accommodation of prisoners are lacking, and hygienic and sanitary conditions are deplorable.