Mexico City - A total of 19 people were killed in fresh unrest
in a prison in Honduras Sunday, less than a week after after the
Honduran government declared a state of emergency in the country's
penal institutions, local media reported.
La Voz de Honduras radio published the names of 19 inmates killed in
the unrest at El Porvenir prison in the coastal city of La Ceiba.
According to information obtained by the broadcaster, the violence is
thought to be related to tensions between rival gangs.
Other media initially spoke of 17 deaths at the El Porvenir facility.
The newspaper La Prensa said the conflict broke out in the prison
cafeteria.
On Tuesday, Honduras declared a state of emergency in the country's
prisons, which saw the penitentiary authorities replaced by an army
commission that is to stay for six months.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez's government took the decision
following several killings and other violent incidents in the Central
American country's prisons.
Prison facilities in Honduras suffer from overcrowding and are
notorious for gang-related violence.