Honduran family mourns mother, daughter killed in prison

In a heart-wrenching final telephone conversation, 26-year-old Paola Yamileth expressed her fear for her life to her cousin, saying, “I feel death here and I am afraid they are going to kill me.” Tragically, just two days after that call, Paola and her mother, Belinda, 46, became victims of a violent clash between gangs at the Honduran prison where they were both incarcerated. The incident resulted in the deaths of at least 46 women.

Outside an overwhelmed morgue in Honduras’ capital city, Tegucigalpa, Marlene Hernandez, Paola’s cousin, recalled the haunting phone call. Aida Portillo, Belinda’s aunt, identified their bodies at the morgue, both having been fatally shot. Distraught relatives gathered in front of the morgue, anxiously seeking information and hoping that their worst fears would not be confirmed. The news was devastating for the entire family, as Portillo expressed, “I did not think it could be true. This situation is hard for the whole family.”

Unfortunately, some families will face a prolonged wait for closure. The public prosecutor’s office stated that DNA tests, necessary for identifying burned bodies from the prison, could take up to three weeks.

According to the police, the deadly incident on Tuesday erupted when members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang opened fire on rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). Although Portillo did not disclose her loved ones’ gang affiliations, she did mention that both Belinda and Paola had been convicted on drug dealing charges. Belinda was serving a seven-year sentence, having completed one year, while Paola had just begun her six-year sentence.

Before their arrests, the mother and daughter lived separately in El Reparto, a impoverished neighborhood on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa where gangs such as Barrio 18 and MS-13 wield more power than authorities. Tuesday’s outbreak of violence occurred six months into a security crackdown in Honduras, during which the government suspended certain constitutional rights and granted security forces the power to detain individuals associated with criminal activity.

Honduras has a history of deadly incidents in its prisons, including a gang fight in a penitentiary in 2019 that claimed the lives of 18 inmates and a fire in 2012 that resulted in the deaths of over 350 individuals. Portillo expressed her disbelief, stating, “We knew that prisons in Honduras are dangerous, but I never thought that they would die serving their sentences and in that way.”