SW News: Pope Francis invoked Honduras' patroness, Our Lady of Suyapa, seeking help in reconciliation and peaceful coexistence within prisons at the Sunday Angelus. He also expressed sadness over a tragic prison incident that occurred on June 20 in Tamara that left more than 40 women inmates dead.

An initial investigation into the incident found that there were serious security flaws. Authorities were aware of threats made by the Barrio 18 gang against the Barrio 13 gang but took no action. Gang members attacked their rivals with pistols and machetes and even burnt some of them alive in their cells.
The Pope said he was saddened by what happened in the Támara Women's Penitentiary Centre in Honduras. He condemned the terrible violence between rival gangs while praying for those who died and for their families.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro said the incident was orchestrated by gang members with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities. Calling the event monstrous, the president promised to take tough action in response. Eighteen pistols, one assault rifle, two machine pistols, two grenades, and machetes were found to have been brought in illegally, according to the investigation.

Security camera footage shows the assassins entering through doors left open or ajar before they turned off the cameras. Prison guards were overpowered but not hurt. The inmates were locked in their cells, doused with flammable liquid, and set ablaze after being shot and chopped by the killers. Authorities describe it as terrorism.
President Castro has fired the minister of security. Given that it is crystal clear that the prison in the town of Tamara, which is located outside of the country's capital Tegucigalpa, was subject to the nefarious influence of mob rule, the entire criminal system now needs a thorough overhaul, say experts.

The Centro Femenino de Adaptacion prison is exclusively for women but it is evident from the recent killings that no rehabilitation took place there. Only plots for murder and mayhem festered.

Meanwhile, the Honduran government declared curfews in two northern cities on Sunday after more than 20 people were killed in separate incidents amid increasing incidences of violence throughout the nation. President Castro declared a 15-day curfew with immediate effect in Choloma and San Pedro Sula from July 4.