Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Maximum Correctional Facility
_from_23_August_1944,_photographed_by_the_Miguelist_Air_Force.png) | |
| Status | Operational |
|---|---|
| Security class | Super-Maximum |
| Capacity | 5,110 |
| Population | 31,857 (as of January 2022) |
| Opened | 27 November 1936 |
| Former name | Tuxtla Martínez Military Penitentiary |
| Managed by | |
| Director | Onésimo Ledesma Soriano |
| Street address | 2291 Calle Correcional |
| City | |
| Department |  Zapatista |
| Country |  Creeperopolis |
| Website | tmp.gob.cr |
| Notable prisoners | |
| Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, Jacobo Graciani Juderías, Mario Villanueva Madrid, Vladimir Kruschev | |
The Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Maximum Correctional Facility (Creeperian Spanish – Creeperian: Ֆածիլիդադ Ծորրեծծիոնալ Մըխիմա դե Տփխտլա Մարտձնեզ–Պանաճոր; Creeperian Spanish – Iberic: Facilidad Correccional Máxima de Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor), commonly known as simply Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor (Տփխտլա Մարտձնեզ–Պանաճոր) and abbreviated as TMP (ՏՄՊ), is a Creeperian imperial military prison located five miles south of both Tuxtla Martínez and Panachor in Zapatista which is operated by the Creeperian government. It is under the joint administration and oversight of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Law Enforcement, with prison guards and security being composed of soldiers in the Creeperian Army. The prison is classified as a super-maximum security prison, one of only eight in Creeperopolis, it is administered by military and civilian officials, and the safety of its staff is of the upmost importance.
As of January 2022, Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor houses 31,857 prisoners, most of whom are members of the gang Mara Salvatrucha, political opponents, and individuals who have committed several capital crimes. According to the Creeperian government, no prisoner has ever successfully escaped from the prison, despite numerous escape attempts, however, some members of Mara Salvatrucha have claimed to have escaped from the prison, although, none of the claims have been verified.
The prison is commonly cited by many human rights organizations as a major concern for the status of human rights in Creeperopolis and many have called it a concentration camp and extermination camp. The prison is known for its harsh living and working conditions, with extensive human rights abuses, torture, and unjustified killings and executions being commonplace. Much of the accounts of human rights abuses are known through the leaked Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers from 2012. The Creeperian government has never denied that human rights abuses occur at the prison.
Contents
History
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Establishment and the Creeperian Civil War
When the Creeperian Civil War began in 1933, the far-right Catholic Imperial Restoration Council purged several left-wing politicians and military officers from the territories that it controlled. Most of them were sent to city jails as the Imperial Council had no major Creeperian prisons under its control, unlike the far-left National Council for Peace and Order, which had captured many of Creeperopolis' major prisons. In 1935, the Imperial Council, on orders of Lieutenant General Rodolfo Fernández Joss, began construction of a prisoner-of-war camp five miles south of Tuxtla Martínez and Panachor in the department of Zapatista. The camp was completed and opened on 27 November 1936.
Initially having a capacity of around 1,000 people, it soon grew to a population of 4,000 by 1940. Severe overpopulation would continue to plague the prison camp, and in 1941, the military killed around 600 prisoners in order to make room for further prisoners. In 1942, the prison was expanded to have a capacity of 3,000 inmates, however, the population when the expansion was completed was around 8,000 inmates, most of whom were political opponents and prisoners of war. From 1936 to 1950, prisoners were commonly found dead from starvation, dehydration, exhaustion, suicide, or were even murdered by prison guards. It was notorious nationwide for its horrible living conditions and prisoner neglect, even being denounced by the National Council on many occasions.
After the liberation of the Teguracoa Extermination Camp by the Imperial Council on 6 September 1949, where around 1.7 million people died, Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor's reputation of being "the worst prison in Creeperopolis" was effectively shattered, which the Imperial Council used to its full advantage and massacred all 10,320 inmates in Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor while the public focused on the atrocities uncovered in Teguracoa. By the end of the Creeperian Civil War, around 34,119 people died in the prison camp, far less than the number of people killed in Teguracoa. Around 8,000 of those who died between 1936 and 1949 at Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor were suicides, and another 15,00 were intentionally murdered by prison guards. No one was prosecuted for the human rights abuses and war crimes which were committed at the prison camp during the civil war.
Inter-war period
Following the end of the civil war and the massacre of its prisoners, the prison was expanded to its modern-day capacity of 5,110 inmates in 1950. It officially reopened in December 1950 and began to intake more prisoners. By 1952, it had already surpassed its maximum capacity, having a populaiton of around 5,500. Most inmates from 1950 to 1979 were political opponents and captured members of the Senvarian Liberation Front (SKBF).
Since the beginning of the Mara War
In 1979, with the beginning of the Mara War against the criminal gang Mara Salvatrucha, the Creeperian government designated Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor as the chief prison in incarcerating members of the gang. On 15 December 1979, all 15,229 prisoners were massacred in order to make room for the expected incoming wave of gang members. The total capacity, however, was not expanded.
On 3 May 1988, thousands of prisoners, mostly members of Mara Salvatrucha, initiated a riot and escape attempt. Led by Ignacio Morales Morales, the prisoners attacked and killed many guards and soldiers, and even killed many prisoners, mostly from rival gangs and hated political figures which were imprisoned there. The Creeperian Army was dispatched and fought against the rioters. In the ensuing battle, which lasted until 16 May 1988, 132 soldiers and 421 prisoners were killed, with another 829 soldiers being wounded. No figure of wounded prisoners is known. In the aftermath of the escape attempt and battle, a total of 7,481 prisoners, the total prison population which survived the battle, were executed. The existence of the battle had been rumored for decades and was only confirmed with the leak of the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers in 2012.
The prison resumed accepting prisoners in 1989, but in 2000, the prison stopped accepting new inmates as a part of a government ceasefire with Mara Salvatrucha, however, no inmates were released and human rights abuses continued. With the 2003 Creeperian coup d'état, the prison began accepting prisoners again, and during the reign of Emperor Alexander II, the prison reached an all-time population high in January 2021 where it reported having a population of 31,104 inmates.
Controversies
Many of the controversies about Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor are known through the leak of the so-called "Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers" in 2012 by an anonymous employee at the prison camp. The leak of the documents, reports, images, and accounts leaked in the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers caused much international outcry about the conditions and human rights abuses in the prison.
Living and working conditions
Accusations and allegations have been made regarding the living conditions of the prison. Orlando Hernández Alvarado of the digital newspaper El Faro asserts that the living conditions in the prison are "not even fit for inanimate objects." Further allegations and accusations claimed that prisoners were crammed into cells to the point that sitting and lying down were near impossible. With the release of several images of overcrowded cells in the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers in 2012, many of the allegations and accusations of cramped living conditions were confirmed.
Food is allegedly of an extremely poor quality, providing bare minimum or below bare minimum in calories, vitamins, and proteins. Water is allegedly dirty, and some sources have even claimed that some of the water given to prisoners is directly taken from sewage water. The Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers leaked a photo apparently showing some prisoners rounded up on the ground wearing face masks, likely indicating that disease of some sort, likely Creeperian Malaria or even cholera if dirty water is in fact distributed, is common in the prison.
The Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers identified that prisoners live in five prisoner classes:
| Class | Translation | Description | Percentage (2012) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travajador | "Worker" | A Travajador is an individual who has been medically evaluated as being fit for labor. These individuals have the most freedom from their cells, being forced to work manual labor. Manual labor includes producing textiles, license plates, other cheap goods, and some inmates are even used as slave labor and sold to the National Mining and Smelting Corporation under Army supervision. Sometimes, the medical evaluations are intentionally false and individuals are sent into the Travajador class as a form of punishment. | 35% |
| Dentro | "Inside" | A Dentro is an individual who has been medically evaluated as being unfit for labor. These individuals spend the majority of their day locked up in their cells, only being allowed outside to shower, eat, and spend time in the yard, for a maximum of three hours a day combined. Individuals who fail to eat all three meals in the three hours allotted to them are forced to eat in their cells. Individuals who fail to shower in the three hours allotted to them are not allowed to shower and are forced to remain in their cells. Individuals who fail to spend yard time in the three hours allotted to them are denied yard time for that day and are forced to remain in their cells. | 35% |
| Loco | "Insane" | A Loco is an individual who has been medically evaluated as being unfit for labor and mentally insane or unstable. These individuals spend their entire day locked up in their cells and are often shackled in their cells, sometimes in intentionally uncomfortable positions which may induce bodily harm. Sometimes, the medical evaluations are intentionally false and individuals are sent into the Loco class as a form of punishment. | 10% |
| OpoPol | Acronym for "Politcal Opponent" | An OpoPol is an individual who was sent to Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor for being a political opponent are separated from the regular prison population and are held in permanent solitary confinement 24 hours per day, often being shackled in their solitary cells, and often in intentionally uncomfortable positions which may induce bodily harm. Individuals in the OpoPol class are often harassed by prison guards because of their status as a political opponent. The guards selected to oversee OpoPol prisoners are handpicked by the Director and are forbidden from murdering the OpoPol prisoners, unlike the other four classes, which guards are free to murder whenever they please. | 10% |
| Fin | "End" | A Fin is an individual who was sent to Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor for committing several capital crimes and was sentenced to immediate death or an individual from one of the other four classes who was reassigned as Fin class for causing severe or frequent disruptions in the operations of the prison. Individuals in the Fin class are the equivalent of death row inmates and are formally executed by guards, however, they may also be murdered by guards and it would be officially listed as an execution. | 10% |
Abuse of prisoners by guards
Prison guards are often accused of abusing the prisoners, and cases of prisoner abuse by the guards have been confirmed by the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers. The papers reported various instances of guards abusing prisoners as a form of punishment, for personal pleasure, and even sometimes for sport. Guards competed with each other to see who could kill as many prisoners as possible in a day, among other forms of "sport," and despite being illegal in Zapatista, several reports of guards gambling on said "sport" exist. The papers named a certain guard, named José Enrique Moreno Dávila (1961–2009), as holding the record of having personally killed the most prisoners at 1,220 confirmed kills throughout his twenty-four year-long career at the prison from 1985 to 2009. When he died in 2009, guards killed many prisoners in the prison as a form of "retaliation," despite his death having no relation to his work.
Several allegations and accusations, however, have been made which were not confirmed by the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers. The wildest allegation of abuse is that, every day, a random prisoner is selected to spin a wheel with both good and bad labels, such as "3 days of good food, torture, nothing, firing squad, sunshine, hanging, gets to choose someone else to spin the wheel, whipping, a cell to yourself for 3 days, and no food for 3 days," which is used as a form of psychological torture, and in some cases, even physical torture. Allegations are even made that guards force prisoners to fight to the death and gamble on the outcome of the fight, despite gambling being illegal in Zapatista.
Abuse of prisoners by prisoners
The Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers revealed that prisoners are even abused by fellow prisoners, which came as a shock for many who believed that the prisoners would have united against the guards. Members of rival gangs to Mara Salvatrucha are frequently beaten and flogged, and in some cases, murdered, for simple offenses and sometimes even for simply being a rival gang member. Very rarely are the same things done against Mara Salvatrucha, as the smaller gangs fear the wrath of Mara Salvatrucha. The gangs exist in a sort of hierarchy, where Mara Salvatrucha is at the top and, in a sense, "bullies" and "pushes around" the smaller gangs who do not dare challenge Mara Salvatrucha's authority.
A report stated that in March 2006, members of Mara Salvatrucha waterboarded several gang members of Los'Muchachos after they were accused of slandering a leader of Mara Salvatrucha who was housed at the prison. Another report from June 2008 stated that Mara Salvatrucha killed six members of Sureños by crushing in their skulls in the yard by slamming them on tables and crushing them under their feet for simply giving a member of Mara Salvatrucha the middle finger.
Administration
Director of Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor
| Portrait | Commandant (Birth–Death) |
Term of office & mandate Duration in years and days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Lieutenant General Rodolfo Francisco Fernández y Joss (1887–1943) |
27 November 1936 |
24 May 1943 |
| 6 years and 178 days | ||||
| 2 |  |
Brigadier Arturo Alfonso Leoz y Loris (1888–1953) |
24 May 1943 |
14 December 1949 |
| 6 years and 204 days | ||||
| 3 |  |
Lieutenant General Ricardo Rodolfo Berrocal y Dávalos (1894–1972) |
14 December 1949 |
30 March 1972 |
| 22 years and 107 days | ||||
| 4 |  |
Colonel Guillermo Tobías Barrios y Tirado (1921–1986) |
30 March 1972 |
4 May 1984 |
| 12 years and 35 days | ||||
| 5 |  |
Brigadier Benjamín Carlos Alarcón y Illescas (1945–2011) |
4 May 1984 |
20 October 2007 |
| 23 years and 179 days | ||||
| 6 |  |
Brigadier Onésimo Augusto Ledesma y Soriano (1969–) |
20 October 2007 |
Incumbent |
| 16 years and 206 days | ||||
Military garrison
The Creeperian Army has a permanent garrison on site of the prison which also serves as the prison guards, specifically the 35th Infantry Battalion.
Notable current inmates
Domestic inmates
| Photo | Inmate | Number | Sentence | Gang affiliation | Crimes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramón Bojórquez Salcido (born 1970) |
TMP20070388 | 805 life sentences
8 May 2007 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1988) Coordinator of Drug Trafficking |
||
 |
Mario Cárdenas Guillén (born 1969) |
TMP20080716 | 716 years imprisonment
4 November 2008 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1987) Coordinator of War |
|
 |
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén (born 1967) |
TMP20070001 | 18 life sentences
1 January 2007 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1987) Coordinator of War |
|
| Antonio Castañón Salinas (born 1989/90) |
TMP20090281 | 582 years imprisonment
6 April 2009 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2008) |
| |
 |
Juan García Abrego (born 1974) |
TMP20080717 | 20,080,717 life sentences
4 November 2008 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1991) Second-in-Command |
|
.jpg) |
Jacobo Graciani Juderías (born 1955) |
TMP2020593 | 376,349,382 life sentences
11 July 2020[1] |
– | |
 |
Schafik Handal López (born 1968) |
TMP2020632 | 37,031 life sentences
6 August 2020 |
– | |
 |
César Librado Legorreta (born 1981) |
TMP20120031 | 87,487 years imprisonment
30 January 2012 |
Los'Sureños (since 1995) |
|
 |
Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri (born 1978) |
TMP20180194 | 1 life sentence
28 March 2018 |
– | |
 |
Fausto Meza Flores (born 1980) |
TMP20150358 | 1,600 years imprisonment
19 June 2015 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2000) Commander in Senvar |
|
 |
Alfonso Mancuso Abrego (born 1972) |
TMP20170481 | 481 years imprisonment
2 May 2017 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1990) Coordinator of Drug Trafficking |
|
| Sylvestro Morales Castillo (born 1989) |
TMP20130066 | 13 life sentences
28 February 2013 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2010) |
| |
 |
Diego Murillo Bejarano (born 1970) |
TMP20200581 | 28 life sentences
16 June 2020 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 1991) Coordinator of Arms Trafficking |
|
| Agustín Salas Valle (born 1996) |
TMP20180710 | 373 life sentences
16 December 2018 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2016) |
| |
| Roberto Solis Águila (born 1980) |
TMP20170009 | 1,983 years imprisonment
18 January 2017 |
– | ||
 |
Mario Villanueva Madrid (born 1965) |
TMP20150783 | 2,015 life sentences
17 November 2015 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2010) Mayor of Tuxtla Martínez |
Foreign inmates
| Photo | Inmate | Number | Sentence | Gang affiliation | Crimes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 SalisfordCostanzo Borroni (born 1978) |
TMP20160657 | 2,705 life sentences plus 5 years
5 August 2016 |
– | |
 El SalvadorRodolfo Infante Jímenez (born 1997) |
TMP20200123 | 788 years imprisonment
16 March 2020 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2019) |
| |
,_Ithiru,_Isiru,_Lyoa.png) |
Template:Country data Lyoa Thomas Kagare (born 1980) |
TMP20190847 | 4 life sentences
29 December 2019 |
– | |
 MorovaVladimir Kruschev (born 1996) |
TMP20190732 | 8 life sentences
2 September 2019[2] |
– | ||
 PaleocacherSeán Mac Stíofáin (born 1970) |
TMP20140635 | 5 life sentences plus 67,000 years
26 September 2014 |
Paleocacherian Mafia (since 1994) |
||
| Template:Country data Lyoa Adi Ntabuwe (born 1986) |
TMP20190098 | 3,486 years imprisonment
7 February 2019 |
Mara Salvatrucha (since 2016) Coordinator of Drug Trafficking (Lyoa) |
Notable former inmates
| Inmate name | Register number | Photo | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martín Arzola Ortega | TMP20190319 | 
|
Executed - July 31, 2019 | Coordinator of Drug Smuggling of Mara Salvatrucha from 2017 to 2019. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1990 to 2019. Captured April 30, 2019. Executed July 31, 2019. |
| Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández | TMP19930455 | .jpg)
|
Suicide - June 19, 2003 | Assassin of Mara Salvatrucha from 1978 to 1993. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1978 to 2003. Captured June 17, 1993. Committed suicide June 19, 2003. |
| Antonio Cárdenas Guillén | TMP20100381 | 
|
Executed - November 5, 2010 | Coordinator of Arms Smuggling of Mara Salvatrucha from 1983 to 2010. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1983 to 2010. Captured April 14, 2010. Executed November 5, 2010. |
| Brandón García Moreno | TMP19871003 | Executed - May 18, 1988 | Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1985 to 1988. Leader of the Battle of Tuxtla Martínez-Panachor. Captured December 2, 1987. Recaptured May 16, 1988. Executed May 18, 1988. | |
| José Martí Gómez | TMP19880283 | Executed - May 18, 1988 | Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1984 to 1988. Leader of the Battle of Tuxtla Martínez-Panachor. Captured February 28, 1988. Recaptured May 16, 1988. Executed May 18, 1988. | |
| Ángel Maturino Reséndiz | TMP19990300 | Suicide - June 27, 2006 | Assassin of Mara Salvatrucha from 1989 to 1999. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1989 to 2006. Captured May 22, 1999. Committed suicide June 27, 2006. | |
| Ignacio Morales Morales | TMP19830030 | Died - May 15, 1988 | Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1982 to 1988. Leader of the Battle of Tuxtla Martínez-Panachor. Captured January 18, 1983. Died May 15, 1988. | |
| Nazario Moreno González | TMP20130284 | 
|
Suicide - March 9, 2014 | Commander of Mara Salvatrucha in San Pedro from 1989 to 2013. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1989 to 2013. Captured April 18, 2013. Committed suicide March 9, 2014. |
| Samuel Piñon Encarnación | TMP19870333 | Executed - May 18, 1988 | Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1984 to 1988. Leader of the Battle of Tuxtla Martínez-Panachor. Captured May 1, 1987. Recaptured May 16, 1988. Executed May 18, 1988. | |
| Alexander Ramírez Umaña | TMP20200194 | 
|
Executed - February 29, 2020 | Commander of Mara Salvatrucha from 1999 to 2020. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1994 to 2020. Captured February 3, 2020. Executed February 29, 2020. |
| Mario Sulú Canché | TMP19900101 | Died - May 12, 2020 | Assassin of Mara Salvatrucha from 1987 to 1990. Member of Mara Salvatrucha from 1987 to 2020. Captured March 28, 1990. Died May 12, 2020. |
Gallery
Photography in Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor is strictly prohibited unless special permission is given by the Director of the prison. As such, many of the available images of the prison come from either official government images which were publicly released or from the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers which leaked several images which were not released by the government.
Officially released images
Prisoners being handcuffed before being let out of their cells (2010).
Prisoners in the yard at night (2011).
An overcrowded cell with many prisoners (2017).
Prisoners standing for midday labor roll call (2019).
Images from the Tuxtla Martínez–Panachor Papers
Prisoners holding gang signs (2010).
An overcrowded cell with many prisoners (2010).
An overcrowded cell block with many prisoners (2012).
Prisoners on the ground (2012).
Prisoners rounded up on the ground (2012).
Prisoners with masks on the ground (2012).
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See also
References
- ↑ Tejón Yagüe, Mario (11 July 2020). "Gaceta Creeperiano – Juicio de Alcalde Anterior Jacobo Graciani Juderías" [Gaceta Creeperiano – Trial of Former Mayor Jacobo Graciani Juderías]. Gaceta Creeperiano (in Creeperian Spanish). Chalatenango, Creeperopolis: Gaceta Creeperiano. p. 1. Retrieved 15 June 2021.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Herrador Piñón, Gustavo (6 September 2019). "Gaceta Creeperiano – Hombre Morobeño Condenado por'Blasfemia y Ateísmo" [Gaceta Creeperiano – Morovan Man Sentenced for Blasphemy and Atheism]. Gaceta Creeperiano (in Creeperian Spanish). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Gaceta Creeperiano. p. 2. Retrieved 15 June 2021.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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