An image of the annunciation and the incarnation — when God became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary — was placed close to the altar during a Mass Pope Francis celebrated on July 7, 2024, in Trieste, Italy. The pope was in Trieste to attend the… […]
Pope Francis washes the feet of 12 young men and women, inmates at Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center on Rome’s outskirts, during a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, April 6, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Mar 11, 2024 … […]
Members of the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) take control of the Women’s Social Adaptation Center (CEFAS) prison in Tamara, 25 km north of Tegucigalpa, on June 26, 2023. The government announced last week that military police would assume control of Honduras’s 21 prisons for a period of one year starting July 1, as well as train 2,000 new prison guards after a vicious battle between rival gangs left at least 46 women dead in a prison near the capital Tegucigalpa. / Credit: Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images
CNA Newsroom, Jun 28, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
On June 20, a confrontation broke out between rival gangs at the Women’s Center for Social Readaptation (CEFAS) in Tamara, a town near Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, where dozens of inmates lost their lives.
The massacre was carried out by women belonging to the so-called “Barrio (neighborhood) 18” gang, who shot, stabbed, and set fire to the inmates of another criminal organization known as “Mara Salvatrucha.”
The Mexican newspaper El Universal explained the meaning behind the terms: “In Central America the word ‘mara’ is used colloquially for a gang; ‘salva’ refers to El Salvador; and ‘trucha’ (trout) is a slang term meaning ‘intelligent’ or ‘clever.’”
After what happened, the president of the country, Xiomara Castro, fired the minister of security, Ramón Sabillón, and assured that “drastic measures” will be taken.
The president tweeted she was “shocked by the monstrous murder of women in CEFAS, planned by gangs in full view and tolerance of security authorities. My solidarity with the relatives.”
The Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) and Barrio 18 are widespread criminal organizations mainly in countries such as Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Both gangs originated in Los Angeles.
Its members, often identified by full-body tattoos, commit crimes such as rape, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and murder.
The number of women who died is yet to be fully determined.
In a June 20 statement, the public prosecutor’s office of Honduras said there were 41 dead. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OHCHR), there were 46.
The bishop emeritus of San Pedro de Sula in Honduras, Ángel Garachana Pérez, spoke of even higher numbers than those confirmed by officials.
The Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa’s prison ministry demanded that the authorities clarify “this cruel event” and that “answers be provided for what happened.”
In addition, the bishop demanded that security be reinforced in prisons so that “it works effectively and in an appropriate manner.”
In a June 25 tweet, Pope Francis said: “I have been very saddened by what happened a few days ago in the women’s penitentiary center in Honduras. I pray for the deceased and their families. May the Virgin of Suyapa help hearts to open up to reconciliation and fraternity, even within prisons.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Relatives of inmates of the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation (CEFAS) prison cry outside the detention center after a fire following a brawl between inmates in Tamara, some 25 kilometers from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on June 20, 2023. / Credit: Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 26, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The Catholic Church in Honduras has made an urgent appeal to the authorities to determine the circumstances in which 48 women inmates died June 20 inside the Women’s Center for Social Readaptation (CEFAS) in the town of Tamara, about 20 miles northwest of Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital.
According to local authorities, on June 20 there was a confrontation between rival gangs inside CEFAS, which unleashed a fire as well as shootings and stabbings.
The bishop emeritus of San Pedro Sula, Ángel Garachana Pérez, said on Twitter: “The tragedy repeats itself: 48 women burned to death or killed in CEFAS!”
“Who does not tremble with grief for them and for their relatives? Who does not wonder with outrage when the radical and comprehensive transformation of a corrupt and failed prison system is going to be undertaken?” the prelate questioned.
The number of women who died has not been fully determined. The public prosecutor’s office of Honduras counted 41 in a statement published June 20. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OHCHR), there were 46.
Other sources, including Garachana Pérez, place the figure even higher. The Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa’s prison ministry demanded that the authorities clarify “this cruel event” and that “answers be provided for what happened.”
In addition, the bishop demanded that security be reinforced in prisons, so that “it works effectively and in an appropriate manner.”
According to La Prensa, the archdiocesan prison ministry also questioned how firearms got into the prison despite security procedures.
Father Juan Ángel López, spokesman for the Honduran Bishops’ Conference, lamented in a statement to the Honduran newspaper La Prensa that “the statistics are cold and don’t reflect but obscure and make us insensitive to real pain. No more excuses!”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis at his Angelus address at the Vatican, Dec. 11, 2022. / Credit: Vatican Media
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Pope Francis washes the feet of prisoners in Civitavecchia, Italy, April 14, 2022. / Vatican Media.
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