Honduras pushing ahead with offshore prison project

Honduras is determined to build an offshore prison complex on the Cisne islands, dismissing environmental concerns.

Colonel Ramiro Muñoz Bonilla, who heads the penitentiary system’s controlling committee, said the environmental license was pending. 

But the process “will soon be passed on to the natural resources ministry, so it can make observations and we can obtain the license. This is a significant process that will be carried out in the adequate time and form, and with all needed legality,” he was quoted as saying by daily La Tribuna. 

Muñoz said the complex was a necessity and ordered by President Xiomara Castro in response to a crime wave. 

Environmentalists claimed the complex will damage the islands’ ecosystem, which is part of a natural reserve. Moreover, experts told BNamericas previously that construction could cost around US$800mn due to complicated logistics. Currently, the area is home to a small military base.

“The president ordered this and we have to comply. It is a fact, we are only waiting to fulfill the legal terms to obtain the license and construction will start. A lot of people do not agree with this but it is not a problem, we have to do it … I believe that the majority of the population who face the crime situation will benefit from it,” said Muñoz.

A construction tender, open to local and international companies, has been announced, but postponed. Further updates have not been provided.