Tegucigalpa.- At least 13 prisoners died and one was seriously wounded – apparently by rival inmates – in a massacre inside Honduras’ National Penitentiary near this capital, the government announced Thursday.
Various media sources reported that as many as 29 other prisoners were less seriously wounded. It was not known whether they had been injured by gunfire.
Security Minister Armando Calidonio told HRN radio in Tegucigalpa that so far authorities had not determined exactly why the shooting erupted or many other details of the incident, which occurred in the so-called “White House” wing of the prison, where about 200 prisoners considered to be highly dangerous are housed.
The killings occurred about 3:20 p.m. (2130 GMT) and were apparently the result of a power struggle among rival groups of prisoners, national prison director Jaime Banegas told Radio America.
“Several shots from a still undetermined firearm were heard in the cell block known as the White House, where there was a power struggle among the inmates,” he said.
Calidonio also said that it was not yet known what type of gun was used in the massacre, adding that “apparently it was a confrontation among inmates.”
He also said that an official investigation had been launched into the incident.
In the wake of the killings, security at the nation’s prisons was reinforced with elements of the special police unit known as the “Cobras.”
Calidonio emphasized that the National Penitentiary has only limited resources for guaranteeing the safety of the inmates housed there, but he added that the situation at the facility – located some 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of the capital – had been brought under control.
“Now everything is calm and under control, and action is being taken on the national level” to strengthen prison security and clarify the circumstances of the massacre, he said.
Twenty-seven prisoners were murdered at the facility in 2005, most of them by their cellmates.
About 600 prisoners rioted there in 2004 to protest the transfer of four of their leaders to another facility, but no injuries were reported in that incident.
Also in 2004, a fire broke out in a cell block housing almost 200 prisoners – most of them members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha street gang – at another jail in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, killing more than 100.
Firefighters said the flames were sparked by overheated electrical cables from the more than 75 domestic appliances the inmates had been using, but survivors claimed the fire was set deliberately by rival gang members.
Only about 30 percent of the inmates in Honduran prisons have been convicted. Most wait anywhere from five to eight years for their cases to be decided.
