Costa Rica has transferred its first 123 inmates into a new maximum-security prison on the outskirts of San Jose, built with the help of El Salvador’s government and modelled on the mass-detention facility that has defined President Nayib Bukele’s crime policy.
The prisoners arrived on Tuesday, the country’s Justice Ministry said. Images released by the ministry show men in orange uniforms with shaved heads, seated in rows with their heads bowed and their hands behind their necks — a presentation closely resembling the photographs El Salvador’s government has issued from its CECOT prison, Al Jazeera reported.
The facility is named the High-Containment Center Against Organized Crime, or CACCO. It cost US$35 million and has capacity for 5,100 inmates — roughly 20 percent of Costa Rica’s total prison population.
Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar said CACCO was “a monument to national security, a forceful response to organized crime, and a guarantee that the state will exercise its authority without hesitation”. He also described the centre as a step that would help reduce overcrowding in the prison system, Hiru News reported.
The prison was inaugurated by President Laura Fernandez on 15 October; Tuesday’s transfer was the first time it held prisoners. Her government has presented the centre as the symbol of a hardline response to the country’s security problems.
Costa Rica has historically been among Latin America’s safer countries, and the adoption of a Bukele-style facility marks a significant shift. Governments and candidates across the region have increasingly sought to replicate El Salvador’s approach of mass arrests and suspended legal protections in the name of fighting gangs.
Not reported
Neither filing says what the 123 inmates were convicted or accused of, how they were selected, or what legal regime applies inside the facility.
Sources
- Al Jazeera — Costa Rica’s mega-prison receives first inmates
- Hiru News — Costa Rican prison with capacity for 5,100 inmates
Hiru News, which credited the BBC, headlined the story as the prison “opening”. The facility was inaugurated on 15 October; what happened on Tuesday was the arrival of its first inmates.
