Honduras plans to build a 20,000-capacity ‘megaprison’ for gang members as part of a crackdown

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The president of Honduras has announced the creation of a new 20,000-capacity “megaprison.” The plan is part of the government’s larger crackdown on a wave of gang violence. President Xiomara Castro unveiled a series of emergency measures in a midnight nationally televised address early Saturday. It includes plans to strengthen the military’s role in fighting organized crime, prosecute drug traffickers as terrorists and build new facilities to ease overcrowding as crimes related to narcoviolence mount. It’s the latest example of Castro’s hard-line stance on security. The stance is a page straight from the playbook of President Nayib Bukele in neighboring El Salvador.