Costa Rica moves first inmates into new organised crime prison
Costa Rica has transferred more than 120 inmates to a new $35 million maximum-security prison near San José, developed with help from El Salvador. The facility marks a tougher approach to organised crime as the country responds to rising violence and a record number of homicides in 2023.
Called the High Containment Center against Organized Crime, CACCO can hold 5,100 people, around a fifth of Costa Rica’s prison population. Its images of prisoners in orange uniforms recall El Salvador’s CECOT, whose mass detentions under a state of emergency have drawn human rights abuse allegations; Costa Rican officials say the new prison will also ease overcrowding.
In short
- Costa Rica’s new $35 million prison has received its first 120-plus inmates.
- CACCO has room for 5,100 prisoners, about a fifth of the national total.
- The facility reflects a tougher response to rising organised crime and violence.
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The case for
Supporters argue that a purpose-built, high-security prison can help contain organised crime networks and reduce their ability to direct violence from custody, as Costa Rica responds to record homicide levels. They also see added capacity as a practical way to relieve overcrowding and improve prison management, while stressing that the facility operates in Costa Rica’s own legal context.
The case against
Critics argue that a prison designed to hold a fifth of the country’s inmates risks making mass confinement the centrepiece of public safety policy, with serious consequences for due process and prisoners’ rights. The visual and institutional parallels with El Salvador’s CECOT raise concerns that a tougher response could normalise abusive practices, while large-scale detention may fail to address the causes of violence.
Explained simply
Costa Rica is a Central American country whose capital, San José, is also its largest city. In recent years it has faced growing violence linked to organised crime, including record levels of homicide in 2023. Organised crime groups are networks involved in activities such as drug trafficking.
The country’s prisons have also struggled with overcrowding. Costa Rica’s new high-security centre is designed to hold up to 5,100 people, about one in five of the country’s prisoners, and is intended to help manage inmates considered a security risk.
El Salvador, a neighbouring Central American country, has pursued a hard-line campaign against gangs, including large-scale arrests and a major prison known as CECOT. That approach has drawn allegations of human rights abuses; Costa Rica’s prison was developed with Salvadoran help, though the two countries’ policies and systems are not identical.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Inside Costa Rica’s new mega-prison based on El Salvador’s infamous jail as its first inmates arrive”.