San Jose: Costa Rica launched a maximum-security prison on Wednesday as part of an effort to tackle organised crime after the country’s killing rate escalated, which was once termed ‘one of the safest countries in Latin America’.
President Laura Fernandez inaugurated the High-Containment Centre Against Organised Crime(CACCO). It is an establishment modelled on El Salvador’s mega-prison and its President Nayib Bukele’s anti-gang crackdown.
As per a local news agency from Costa Rica, The Tico Times, Fernández, during the announcement ceremony, said that her administration’s mission was to return peace to law-abiding people and that it would not rest until it did so.
Located near the capital, San Jose, the prison can accommodate 5,100 inmates, which equates to 20 per cent of Costa Rica’s population.
According to the judicial data, 905 homicides were reported in 2023 alone. Killings slightly declined to 876 in 2024 and 873 in 2025. As Reuters cites, most killings were associated with criminal gangs over disputes between drug trafficking routes and local markets.
Fernandez is to visit El Salvador on Friday to discuss its methods in dealing with the gang violence. Fernandez said the prison’s impact would depend in part on the judiciary securing more convictions.
Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar projects CACCO as part of a broader effort to restore state control. The first inmate transfer to the prison is scheduled for the end of October. The current prison operations focus on investigations, patrols and extradition efforts.
(With agency inputs from Reuters, The Tico Times)
