Honduras Plans Mega-prison to Tackle Criminal Gangs
Michiyo Tanabe and Kanako Mita
Modern Tokyo Times
President Xiomara Castro of Honduras is continuing her policy of targeting criminal gangs. Accordingly, the proposed plans for a 20,000 mega-prison is a natural continuation of her policies.
Castro declared that the security apparatus should be deployed to “urgently execute interventions across parts of the country with the highest incidences of gang crimes, such as murders for hire, drug and firearm trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and money laundering.”
In late 2022, the military police were sent to the borders of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua concerning regional criminal networks.
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Drug cartels and criminal activities blight countless nations from Colombia to Mexico – and further afield – linking Central America, North America, and South America. America is also a major problem because it is like a magnet. This concerns the mega narcotics market, regional gang networks, and weapons flowing from America to various drug cartels.”
Reuters reports, “The measures echo the mass trials and “mega-prison” pioneered by President Nayib Bukele in neighboring El Salvador, measures that have drawn ire from rights groups alleging abuses but which have lowered the country’s murder rates and won him widespread popularity.”
Casto is also intent on changing the penal code to tackle specific crimes. Accordingly, she wants to designate certain crimes under “terrorism.”
France 24 reports, “Honduras announced on Friday night the construction of a mega-prison for 20,000 inmates, among more than a dozen measures, by declaring a “security emergency” to combat the overwhelming crime. In a national radio and television broadcast, President Xiomara Castro and other members of the National Defense and Security Council (CNDS) unveiled the “crime solution plan” in response to public outcry over the surge in violence.”
In 2022, Castro said, “This social democratic government is declaring war on extortion, just as it has, since the first day, declared wars on corruption, impunity, and drug trafficking.”
Accordingly, the mega-prison is a continuation of her policies to stem the power and menace of criminal gangs in Honduras.
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