Honduras Planning New Prison Island to Punish Gang Members

Honduras is now planning to have its own island prison colony as it tries to follow El Salvador's example in dealing with violent street gangs like MS-13. This time, though, they are also trying to do something a bit different in this one, as their mega prison idea will be much more isolated.

According to Al Jazeera News, Honduran officials are hoping that placing the prison on a remote island would cut gang members off from criminal networks on the mainland. It is planned to be built on Great Swan Island, or the Islas del Cisne, in the Caribbean Sea.

President Xiomara Castro has proposed a plan for an island prison that would hold 2,000 gang leaders and cut them off from the mainland, as the prison will be located 250km (155 miles) off the coast. The isolated area is related to a larger crackdown that resulted from the gang-related massacre of 46 women during a Honduras prison riot.

However, critics are pointing out that the Honduran gangs might adapt to the isolation, as shown by history. Skeptics also say that the plans for the island prison are "little more than optics and fail to address the root causes of endemic violence."

New Honduras Prison Island Will Be the 1st Island Prison in the Western Hemisphere Since 2019

Previously, the Americas had plenty of island prisons, the most infamous one being Alcatraz off San Francisco. However, as the years went on, these island prisons went out of favor throughout the western hemisphere, with these prisons closing down one by one.

In Latin America, there were island prisons in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. According to the Associated Press, the last one in the Americas to close down was in Mexico in 2019. No other island prison has been operating on the two continents ever since.

However, with this new Honduras prison, officials hope that a return to the past will help deal with the wave of violence happening around the country, as gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18, better known as the 18th Street Gang, have terrorized communities across Central America.

Because of the isolation of the islands, Honduran officials hope that gang leaders will not be able to run their operations from prison, as they did with prisons in the mainland. Great Swan Island, or the Islas del Cisne, is so far away that it usually takes a day to reach by boat when traveling from the mainland.

Honduras Prisons Are Known for Deadly Riots

Prison violence has been going on in Honduras for years now, especially with gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18 being at each other's throats. With the recent prison riot that killed 46 people last June, the government was forced to make some changes.

Al Jazeera News reported that Honduran authorities are pushing "to regain control of the prisons." With this, they have launched "Operation Faith and Hope," where they crack down on these violent street gangs' presence in the prison system.

Female Barrio 18 street gang members confronted female members of the rival MS-13, resulting in a riot that killed 46 women. Guns were reportedly smuggled inside, along with machetes and flammable liquids. Some prisoners were burned alive inside their cells, while others were shot dead or hacked.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Embedded With Drug Gangs in Honduras | Developing News - Vice News