Honduras is planning the construction of the only island prison colony in the Western Hemisphere, where it will send its most-feared gangsters, according to the AP. President Xiomara Castro, who previously promised to tackle gang violence through systemic reforms, now aims to build a secluded prison on the Islas del Cisne archipelago. This decision comes after a gang-related massacre of 46 women in a prison. The secluded prison will house 2,000 gang leaders and is part of a larger crackdown on gang violence.
The passage explains that the Islas del Cisne can only be reached via satellite communication, as stated by José Jorge Fortín, the head of Honduras’ armed forces. The goal is to prevent gang leaders from running their operations from inside the prison. Escape will be difficult due to the remote location of the island, which takes about a day to reach by boat from the mainland. “The idea is that they lose contact with everything, contact with all of society … and they can really pay for their crimes,” Fortín commented. He did not provide information about the project’s cost or timeline, but emphasized Castro’s order to expedite the construction process.
In the past, island prisons were common in Latin America, with several countries having such facilities. However, they were plagued by deadly riots, harsh conditions, and daring prison escapes. The last island prison in Mexico closed in 2019. Skeptics argue that Honduras’ decision to revive this approach merely creates the illusion of addressing endemic violence while failing to tackle its underlying causes.
Tiziano Breda, a Latin America expert at Italy’s Instituto Affari Internazionali, pointed out that building a new prison is pointless without first regaining control of the existing ones. “Criminal gangs have shown throughout their history that they can adapt,” Breda stated. Biologists in the region are also concerned about the potential environmental impact of the project. The Islas del Cisne archipelago is a biodiverse ecosystem that has been designated as an environmentally protected territory for over three decades. The construction of the prison could potentially harm these delicate ecosystems, especially considering the ongoing effects of climate change in the Caribbean.
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