On 18 June 2009, eighteen members of the 'Mara 18' gang escaped from a prison in San Pedro Sula, northern Honduras. Two of the inmates – Elmer Orellana and Alexander Reyes – were the men charged with the kidnap and murder of Edwin Palacios – the brother of Tottenham Hotspur player Wilson Palacios.
Dangerous Gang Members
The gang members, who have been involved in kidnapping, murder, extortion and robbery, reportedly dug a tunnel that was up to 50 meters long. The tunnel originated in the prisoners' cell and ended inside a house outside the prison walls. As they made their escape, heavily armed and wearing police uniforms, getaway vehicles were waiting for them.
According to El Tiempo newspaper, if and when the prisoners are found and returned to the jail, they will have some of their luxuries removed as punishment, including air conditioning, cable TV and games machines.
Reports by the Associated Press have indicated that just one of the inmates has been recaptured, while a further two are dead. One was found strangled in a sugar cane field while another died during a shoot-out with police that also left an officer dead.
The incident beggars a wider question about the Honduran prison system before the matter even reached such a bloody conclusion. How did no–one notice what was happening?
Prison Guards Saw Nothing
According to the investigation into the matter so far, prison guards could have seen the tunnel–digging in operation from several watch–points from across the prison. One such tower was just a few metres away from the cell where the tunnel originated and police are looking into who was on duty on the days preceding the escape. Naturally, there are concerns over complicity on the part of the guards. Guards also monitor the area surrounding the prison and no reports were made over suspicious cars waiting in the area around the time of the escape. Lastly, another matter yet to be resolved is how the prisoners procured their weapons and uniforms.
Corruption in Latin American Prisons
It's still early days in the investigation over the Mara 18 escape, but if any foul play on the side of the prison guards is discovered, it certainly won't be the first time they've come under attack for corruption. Reports of prisons being run by the inmates rather than guards, gang conflict and murders taking place within prison walls and being hastily covered–up, as well as rancid conditions causing disease to spread out–of–control, have been hitting the media for years. No–one has truthfully managed to get to the bottom of the problem nor to ascertain its extent. The San Pedro Sula prison from which the latest escape took place had just eighty prison guards for 1,800 inmates. Most would argue that's nowhere near enough in order to maintain any degree of control over the prison population.
Inside Honduran Prisons: The True Story
Roger Ordbraz Carles is a human rights lawyer for the non-governmental organization Centro de Prevencion Tratamento y Rehabilitacion du las Victimas de la Tortura y sus Familiares – Center for the Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and their Families (CPTRT). Carles visits inmates in Honduran prisons every week and is one of the few people who sees what is really going on inside. “The prison system has always had so many problems that now people forget that it's a problem,” he says. According to Carles, although prisons complain of lack of funding, there is money going into the prison system, it's just not reaching the right places. Mingled with the fact that living conditions are cramped and squalid, disease and fighting is rife and prisoners are not segregated according to the seriousness of their crimes and mental state, Carles confirms that the situation inside prison walls is dire.
What Should be Done to Improve the Situation in Latin American Jails?
- Address social issues outside prison – the government needs to work on cutting crime so fewer go to prison in the first place. This would also help to address the severe overcrowding in jails.
- Weed out corruption – with corrupt prison guards in post, guards will never have control and authority over prisoners. Corruption also means that some guards currently turn a blind eye to prisoners swapping drugs and firearms, which only heightens tension and violence within prison walls.
- More prison guards – the ratio of prison staff to prisoners is not conducive to effective prison management and maintaining discipline.
- Better segregation – although gangs are mostly segregated in prisons, teenage delinquents are often found in the same cells as murderers and rapists. Positive segregation can help rehabilitate prisoners according to their individual situations.
- Identify mental illness – there are inmates who are suffering from severe mental illness and should be in secure hospitals rather than prison.
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