Deadly Fire at Overcrowded Prison Adds to Worsening Toll in PostCoup Honduras
More than 350 inmates were killed this week when a fire swept through an overcrowded prison in Honduras. It was the world’s deadliest prison fire in a century. Most of the prisoners who died had never been charged, let alone convicted. Honduras is plagued with judicial corruption, rampant drug trafficking, and the highest murder rate in the world, which critics say has worsened since the 2009 coup that overthrew Manuel Zelaya. We’re joined by Dana Frank, professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Honduras correspondent for The Nation magazine. “This was not a natural disaster,” Frank says. “There were two previous prison fires like this in 2003 and 2004… There have been reports saying that this should have been cleaned up long ago.” [includes rush transcript]
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