Honduras looks to build prison for 20,000 inmates

The Honduras government announced a plan aimed at solving the security crisis in the country, including construction of a large prison in addition to the Cisne Islands complex. 

President Xiomara Castro launched the plan on radio and TV on Friday, ordering the immediate construction of a prison to house 20,000 inmates. 

The facility will be located in a remote area shared by the departments of Olancho and Gracias a Dios to tackle the “emergency situation related to security,” according to the plan cited by daily El Mundo. 

Members of the Maras gangs and other organized crime groups will be held in the jail, dubbed the emergency reclusion center (CRE).

Castro also ordered that the bidding process to build a prison complex on the Cisne Islands, that was announced last year, be launched in the next two weeks. 

Information on the Caribbean facility has not been made public as it is considered a “national security” issue. The project has been rejected by environmentalists and construction experts due to the damage that it would do to local ecosystems, and the high cost of building the prison 250km from the coastline. 

Castro’s administration declared a security-related state of emergency in December 2022 to deal with gang violence, which is still in force.