• El Salvador
• gangs
• Honduras
• Justice

Honduras follows Bukele’s Model!

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October 31, 2026

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Prison

​Tegucigalpa, Oct 30 (EFE).- By Anny Castro

The imposition of harsher penalties, including life imprisonment for gang leaders, and a mega-prison inspired by the Salvadoran model mark a hardening of Honduras’s security policy, dividing opinion regarding its effectiveness against crime and the risks it poses to human rights.

​The reforms, spearheaded by the National Council for Defense and Security (CNDS), chaired by Honduran President Nasry “Tito” Asfura, were approved by Parliament and aim to expand the state’s tools against gangs.

​According to authorities, these gangs, known as “maras,” comprise approximately 40,000 members, including both youth and adults, who exert control over certain areas through extortion, threats, and homicide.

​Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18, the primary gangs operating in the country, which have been operating for over three decades, are linked to a major share of the 2,629 homicides recorded in 2025, according to official data.

​Juan Carlos Monge, the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OACNUDH), told EFE that “the state has an obligation to respond” to the demand for security, but “it must do so within the proper framework,” respecting national and international standards.

​Monge thus advocated a comprehensive policy that combines prosecution with violence prevention and addressing structural causes.

​Reforms Amid Criticism and Support

​The reforms to the Penal Code establish sentences of 30 to 40 years for gang members and up to life imprisonment for their leaders and financiers.

​It also establishes sentences of eight to ten years for attacks against authority, and life imprisonment for the murder of justice and security officials in connection with their duties.

​The package introduces mandatory pretrial detention for terrorist associations and extends the deadline to present suspects of terrorism, drug trafficking, kidnapping, or extortion to a judge from 24 to 48 hours. It also creates a Special Prison Force and applies biometric controls and restrictions in maximum-security units.

​These measures are in addition to four security laws reformed in September to strengthen prison control and prevent gangs declared as “terrorist organizations” from orchestrating crimes from within prisons.

​The Honduran strategy includes building a maximum-security prison for some 1,300 highly dangerous inmates, inspired by El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), whose facilities were visited in mid-October by a delegation led by Parliament Speaker Tomás Zambrano.

​Inaugurated in 2023 by the government of Nayib Bukele, Cecot has become a regional benchmark for the hard-line policy against gangs and has inspired projects such as the mega-prison for dangerous inmates that Costa Rica recently opened.

​Monge stated that the reforms could “trigger human rights violations” and increase pressure on the judicial and prison systems; he also drew attention to a strategy focused on arresting and incarcerating young people without addressing factors such as lack of employment, education, and access to healthcare.

​Before expanding the state’s punitive capacity, the UN official noted it must define a criminal policy that identifies the main threats, establishes priorities, and determines whether institutions have sufficient resources to address them.

​Criminalistics specialist Gonzalo Sánchez described the reforms to combat organized crime and drug trafficking as “more than necessary,” noting that these represent a “serious problem” due to the weapons they have accumulated, among other factors.

​Speaking to EFE, Sánchez defended harsher penalties as a tool against gangs, asserting they can be applied while respecting individual rights, with oversight of police and judicial actions. EFE

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