Photo: Gustavo Amador / EFE
By: The opinion Posted Jun 21, 2023, 1:22 pm EDT
The Honduran authorities raised this Wednesday to 46 the number of fatalities in the brawl and a fire that occurred on Tuesday at the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation (Cefas)in which a dozen women were injured.
“46 bodies” of the victims of the brawl in Cefas have entered the Tegucigalpa Forensic Medicine department, the spokeswoman for that agency of the Public Ministry, Izza Alvarado, told reporters.
He added that prosecutors and forensic doctors continue to work in the women’s prison and that in the next few hours they will present an official report on the total number of victims.
In a first balance after the fight and the fire were controlled, the Public Ministry reported on Tuesday that 41 female prisoners had lost their livessome burned and others by shots.
In front of Forensic Medicine, a tent has been set up so that the relatives of the victims await the delivery of the bodies.
During the course of Tuesday night and early today, most of the 23 bodies identified so far were delivered, all with shots, said the Forensic Medicine spokeswoman.
Last night in front of Forensic Medicine there was a group of parents crying and other family members wanting to know if any of their imprisoned relatives were among the dead, because they had no idea if they were alive or dead and were looking for information.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro dismissed Security Minister Ramón Sabillón last night after the death of 46 women in a prison near Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital.
The Presidential House indicated in a statement that Castro decided to appoint Gustavo Sánchez as the new Minister of Security, who had been serving as director of the National Police, and that Sabillón “will take a position in the Honduran foreign service.”
After learning about the massacre, the Honduran president expressed on Twitter that she feels “shocked” by the “monstrous murder of women in Cefas, planned by gangs in full view and patience of security authorities.”
“My solidarity with relatives. I summon the Minister of Security and the president of the Intervention Commission to render accounts. I will take drastic measures!Castro emphasized.
The Honduran prison system, made up of some 25 prisons, is considered a “ticking time bomb” due to overcrowding, infrastructure problems and a large number of prisoners in pretrial detention.
With information from Efe.
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