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BackCosta Rica latest to adopt Bukele blueprint with new mega-prison
Costa Rica latest to adopt Bukele blueprint with new mega-prison
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SCMP Economy45 minutes agoWorld1 min readChina

Costa Rica latest to adopt Bukele blueprint with new mega-prison

costa ricael salvadornayib bukele

Quick Look

Costa Rica has inaugurated a mega-prison modeled after El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) as part of its hardline crackdown on drug trafficking, following a regional trend of adopting Bukele's security strategy endorsed by figures including Donald Trump.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Costa Rica has long been seen as a peaceful country in Central America but is now prioritizing the fight against drug trafficking by adopting a hardline security approach inspired by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele.

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Costa Rica, considered for decades a peaceful enclave in turbulent Central America, has now made fighting drug trafficking one of its main goals. And it is turning to one of its Central American neighbours for inspiration in its hardline crackdown.

On Wednesday, President Laura Fernandez inaugurated a mega-prison that emulates the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) that has become a symbol of Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele’s security strategy.

Bukele has managed to reduce murders to a historic low in El Salvador but faces accusations of abuses during the state of emergency that began in 2022 and has imprisoned more than 91,000 people.

Costa Rica is not the first to turn its attention to the man who has proclaimed himself the “coolest dictator in the world”. Ecuador has done it. So have the new presidents of Peru and Colombia. From Honduras to the Southern Cone, these countries are joining the hardline security strategy also endorsed by US President Donald Trump.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • Costa Rica will see an increase in incarceration rates as part of its hardline security strategy.

    Likely · Within months

Open Questions

  • What specific human rights safeguards will Costa Rica implement in its mega-prison?
  • How will the Costa Rican public respond to the potential rise in incarceration rates?
  • What metrics will be used to evaluate the success of this security strategy beyond incarceration numbers?

Related Topics

costa rica
PeopleLaura FernandezNayib Bukele
OrganizationsGovernment of Costa RicaGovernment of El Salvador
PlacesCosta RicaEl Salvador
Topicsel salvadornayib bukelemega-prisoncecotdrug traffickinghardline security
This article was originally published by SCMP Economy.

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