On 20 June 2023, a prison riot broke out in the Women's Center for Social Adaptation,^{[lower-alpha 1]} a women's prison located in Támara, Honduras, about 29 km (18 mi) northwest from Tegucigalpa, the nation's capital. The riot is suspected to be the result of a conflict between female members of the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs.^[1] Forty-six people were killed, with most from a fire that began amid the chaos. The precise circumstances surrounding the incident are currently being investigated.

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Támara prison riot

Part of the Honduran gang crackdown
Támara prison riot (Honduras)
Date	20 June 2023; 10 months ago (2023-06-20)
Location	Centro Femenino de Adaptación Social, Támara, Francisco Morazán Department, Honduras
Coordinates	14°10′52″N 87°20′,48″W
Type	Prison riot
Cause	Gang activity
Participants	female members of MS-13 and the 18th Street gang
Deaths	46
Non-fatal injuries	7+

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The Women's Center for Social Adaptation is a women's prison located in Támara,^[2] Francisco Morazán Department.^[3] At the time, the prison housed between 800^[2] and 900^[4] inmates, double its rated capacity.^[2] The prison has been an ongoing scene of cross-gang conflict, particularly between the 18th Street gang and MS-13, deadly archrivals. Killings were increasing in the prison in the years leading up to the riot, with violent incidents being recorded for the first time at the facility in 2020.^[2]

Organized crime is a pervasive force in Honduras and is often bolstered by the illegal drug trade.^[5][6] Honduran gangs oftentimes wield immense influence within prisons, where pseudo-economies and rules are often set up by inmates.^[7] Conflict between gangs within and between prisons is common, where facilities often place rival gangs in close proximity. In a 2021 report, Human Rights Watch stated that "Overcrowding, inadequate nutrition, poor sanitation, beatings, intra-gang violence, and detainee killings are endemic in [Honduran] prisons."^[2] Contraband, such as drugs, pistols, machine guns, and grenades, has been discovered in Honduran prisons. Security forces are often bribed by inmates.^[2]

In 2012 in Comayagua, 361 people were killed in the deadliest prison fire ever recorded.^[8] In December 2019, 40 inmates were killed in a wave of violence at two all-male Honduran prisons in a single weekend.^[3][9]

According to Delma Ordóñez, the president of an association for prisoners' families, a brawl broke out between members of rival gangs 18th Street and MS-13.^[10][11] An injured inmate stated that members of the 18th Street gang burst into a cell block and opened fire on other inmates or set them on fire.^[12] Most victims were burned to death; some were shot.^[13] Images released by local media showed black smoke billowing out of a prison. Public Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Yuri Mora stated that the government could not confirm specifics regarding the incident at the moment.^[3]

It was initially announced that at least 41 people died, with authorities warning that the number could increase;^[5][14] it was later raised to 46 deaths.^[15] Seven inmates were being treated at a local Tegucigalpa prison.^[12] The part of the prison where the riot started was completely destroyed.^[16][7]

Julissa Villanueva, the head of the Honduran prison system, suggested that the riots were caused by recent clampdowns on illicit activity inside the country's prisons. In a televised address following the riot, she said "we will not back down."^[10] On Twitter, she declared a state of emergency and announced that firefighters, police, and military forces would intervene.^[4] Xiomara Castro, president of Honduras, accused prison security and law enforcement of being complacent and even acquiescing to the rioters, saying on social media that she would "take drastic measures".^[2][12]

In response to the incident, the Honduran government issued two executive decrees, one declaring a state of emergency over the incident, and another one instructing the military to build a maximum security prison in the tiny and remote Swan Islands in the Caribbean Sea, where the heads of gangs and violent prisoners will be transferred.^[17]