The death toll from a riot at a women’s prison in Honduras has reached 46, according to a government spokesperson. Relatives of the inmates gathered at the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social, located around 20 kilometers from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, seeking information about their incarcerated family members. The main public morgue in Tegucigalpa is struggling to accommodate the remains of the victims, many of whom were burned beyond recognition. The riot, which involved gang violence, was reportedly planned by gang members with the knowledge of guards. Honduran President Xiomara Castro pledged to take strict measures to address the deaths. Some relatives expressed anger and disbelief, questioning how such events could occur in a country that has a history of deadly prison incidents and corruption. The clash between the Barrio 18 gang and the rival Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) was likely in response to a recent government crackdown on corruption within prisons. The gangs, which originated in Los Angeles, have been engaged in a violent conflict for control over the drug trafficking and extortion industries, making Central America one of the most dangerous regions in the world. It is described as a “terrorist attack” by Julissa Villanueva, the head of the penal system, and is seen as a reaction to the government’s implementation of a state of exception, modeled after the one in neighboring El Salvador, which allows security forces to detain individuals associated with crime.