David AgrenSeptember 27, 2012 06:22

MEXICO CITY — The news was disturbing: 132 inmates burrowed through a tunnel and out of the prison in Piedras Negras, near the Texas border. What followed was a familiar narrative. Local officials pointed the finger at the usual suspects, Los Zetas. Along the way, the awful truth emerged. The inmates had actually walked out the prison door.

132 inmates escape Mexican prison near US boarder

Stacey LeascaSeptember 18, 2012 08:31

Mexican authorities are offering a hefty reward for the capture of 132 inmates who escaped from prison in the border town of Piedras Negras in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to officials, 82 of the inmates were charged with federal crimes.

Can El Salvador’s gang truce hold? (PHOTOS)

Simeon TegelMay 22, 2012 06:16

SAN SALVADOR — One of six siblings whose single mother struggled to make ends meet, Carlos was recruited to the Mara Salvatrucha — one of two Central American gangs whose violent tentacles reach from Los Angeles to Lima — when he was just 12. Yet Carlos’ most dangerous challenge may have been his decision to leave gang life behind him, eventually joining Quetzalcoatl, a small nonprofit (named after a Mesoamerican deity) that works to save youngsters from El Salvador’s rampant, senseless violence.

Alex LeffMay 18, 2012 12:46

Honduras: Another day, another prison riot

Gun-battling prisoners took over Honduras' San Pedro Sula prison. Experts say they were in control all along.

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An inmate at Honduras' San Pedro Sula prison, which has erupted with riots and gunfights this week. (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)

Rioting inmates have taken control of Honduras’ prison in San Pedro Sula. However, most Hondurans could tell you that the prisoners really had the power to begin with.

On Wednesday, gun-toting prisoners got into a shootout that killed at least one person and injured 10, the BBC reports citing Honduran officials. The report says the city's bishop is trying to negotiate a peaceful outcome between the inmates.

Alex LeffMay 16, 2012 08:13

Drug legalization camp has another reason to get fired up

Harsh drug laws are abetting Latin America's prison systems overload.

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A prisoner peers out from behind the bars of an unauthorized holding pen in Brazil. (Jimmy Chalk/GlobalPost)

Governments are waging a costly battle against narcotics. And many have pretty stiff, if not draconian, anti-narcotics laws, which send drug users, dealers and mules to jail in big numbers that swell prison populations beyond capacity.

Caging in Central America

Mike McDonaldMay 14, 2012 06:20

COMAYAGUA, Honduras — The devastating prison fire in Honduras in February was the latest crisis for Central Americas’ crumbling justice systems and provoked heartbreak across a region where citizens have lost faith in law enforcement.

Brazil: Rio shuts makeshift police-run jails

Taylor BarnesMay 14, 2012 06:21

SAO GONÇALO, Brazil — In this working-class suburb of Rio de Janeiro, women and babies line up with beans and crackers in front of what used to be a horse stable. Hundreds of men accused of drug trafficking, murder, robbery, sexual assault or paramilitary activity are waiting for them inside. These ad hoc police-run jails were never meant to exist.

Mexican hot potato over who controls prisons

David AgrenMay 14, 2012 06:19

MEXICO CITY — When 800 police officers stormed a prison in Sonora state in April, they found a cache of homemade knives, drugs and personal electronics. A similar raid last fall in Acapulco uncovered much of the same — along with bottles of liquor, prostitutes and even peacocks.

In Venezuela’s prisons, inmates are the wardens

Girish GuptaMay 14, 2012 06:22

CARACAS, Venezuela — Through the darkness, noise and the bustling crowd, it takes a moment before you notice that everyone here is carrying a machine gun, a rifle or pistol — not slung over their backs or tucked into their pants, but menacingly prone. Others toss grenades up and down or sharpen knives while enjoying the cocktail of drugs and music.

In-Depth Series: Encarcelacion — Latin America's fatal prison problem

May 11, 2012 08:42

Massive jailbreaks in Mexico. Prison riots in Venezuela, and fires in Honduras. Latin America's prisons are overcrowded, out of control and ready to burst. In this in-depth series, GlobalPost goes inside some of the Americas' most violent prisons to investigate a correctional system that has gone horribly wrong.