Prison Corruption

Four penitentiary officers who sold commissary cards to inmates' families and managed funds for former prison director Juan Carlos Osorto Castillo are now implicated in irregularities including unauthorized card printing and overcharging vendors, the National Penitentiary Institute confirmed.

General Walter Amador Lacayo, who took over the National Prison Institute in May 2026, acknowledged that surplus inventory in food and supply purchases should not exist and admitted signs warrant investigation, saying he inherited complex financial problems now under audit.

Colonel Karlthers Medina, former director of Támara prison, has been placed on administrative leave while authorities investigate his role in an L8 million (about $320,000) shortage in the prison canteen funds during his tenure.

The former director of Honduras's main penitentiary, Colonel Juan Carlos Osorto Castillo, is requesting a full audit of the Támara prison commissary system from its inception, citing unclear profit accounting and lack of inventory records as prior administrations changed, after an alleged eight-million-lempira shortfall was detected.

Colonel Juan Carlos Osorto, former director of Honduras's main prison in Támara, faces accusations of sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and coercion from female staff, alongside an investigation into L8 million (about $320,000) missing from prison canteen funds.