Massacre of 11 in pool hall in Honduras prompts president to impose security measures

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Gunmen burst into a pool hall in northern Honduras and opened fire, killing 11 people and prompting President Xiomara Castro to announce security measures including curfews in the area amid a wave of drug trafficking-linked violence.

The attack occurred in the city of Choloma in Cortes province late Saturday night. It left 10 men and one woman dead.

The massacre followed the killing of three people Thursday in a bakery in the city of San Pedro Sula. Among the victims was Ericka Julissa Bandy García, wife of an alleged associate of former President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is imprisoned in the U.S. awaiting trial for drug trafficking-related charges.

In central Honduras, 46 inmates were killed Tuesday by Barrio 18 gang members in a women’s prison in Tamara, north of Tegucigalpa.

“SPS (San Pedro Sula) and Choloma: I have taken measures to give you security in the face of the brutal and ruthless terrorist attack you face by hired thugs trained and directed by the drug lords who operate with impunity in the Sula valley drug corridor,” the president said on Sunday.

The security measures announced by Castro include “raids, captures and checkpoints 24 hours a day,” along with curfews for Choloma and San Pedro Sula. The curfew in Choloma will run from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. The curfew in San Pedro Sula will begin on July 4.

National Police spokesman Edgardo Barahona confirmed the attack in the pool hall.

The brutal slaughter of the female prisoners led Castro to announce measures to take control of the prisons and stop the entry of weapons and drugs into the lockups.