Costa Rica inaugurates a super prison against narcos

The President of Costa Rica, Laura Fernández, inaugurated the High Containment Center against Organized Crime (Cacco). It is a maximum security prison inspired by Nayib Bukele's Salvadoran model, designed to counter the advance of drug trafficking. The facility required an investment of approximately 35 million dollars and will be able to accommodate 5,100 highly dangerous prisoners, who will strictly wear orange uniforms.

During the opening ceremony, the president defended the implementation of the new prison regime. "Cacco is a new model, a hard-line model, Costa Rica will be a world reference point for penitentiary security," Fernández said. He then added that the government will exercise "a hard line because those who make mistakes pay, but at the same time we will honor the Costa Rican tradition of respecting fundamental human rights."

The prison project was born in response to the increase in violence in the country, which records around 900 murders a year, of which 70% linked to organized crime. At the same time, the executive introduced new restrictions within prisons, such as the drastic reduction of conjugal visits, and asked Congress to approve reforms to allow prisoners to work for pay.