Thursday 15 October 2026
Afternoon Edition
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
World

Costa Rica opens mega-prison as Bukele-style crackdowns spread across Latin America

New 5,100-capacity facility aims to curb organised crime amid near-record homicide levels

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Costa Rica has inaugurated a high-security mega-prison, joining a growing number of Latin American countries adopting the tough-on-crime model popularised by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. President Laura Fernandez opened the High-Containment Centre Against Organised Crime (CACCO) on Wednesday, a facility with capacity for 5,100 people, equivalent to about 20 percent of the country's current prison population.

The opening comes as Costa Rica grapples with near-record homicide levels driven by increased fighting between criminal groups over drug routes. The country recorded 905 homicides in 2023, followed by 876 in 2024 and 873 in 2025.

"The CACCO will force criminals to face a new model – a tough-on-crime model. Costa Rica will become a global benchmark for prison security," Fernandez said during the inauguration ceremony.

First transfers to the facility are scheduled for the end of October. Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar said the prison will help the government reassert control over the prison system and diminish infiltration by organised crime.

Across the region, other leaders are pursuing similar strategies. Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, who took office in July, has announced plans to tour El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), which can hold about 40,000 people, in anticipation of building a comparable facility. In Colombia, newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office in August, campaigned on a pledge to construct 10 mega-prisons. In Brazil, right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has advanced to the final round of the presidential election with a platform that includes building five mega-prisons, citing the Salvadoran model.

While the crackdowns have proven popular, critics warn they often weaken key civil liberties. In El Salvador, the approach has involved mass arrests and the suspension of basic rights.

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The expansion of mega-prisons and hardline security policies across Latin America signals a regional shift toward law-and-order governance that could reshape civil rights and prison systems.
  • Costa Rica, historically a relatively peaceful country in the region, is now adopting measures previously reserved for nations with higher violent crime, reflecting the spread of drug-related violence.
  • The trend raises questions about long-term effectiveness and the balance between public safety and human rights.

Background

Costa Rica has long been considered an exception in Central America, avoiding the high levels of violent crime seen in neighbours such as El Salvador and Honduras. However, a surge in homicides since 2023, driven largely by organised crime competing over drug trafficking routes, has shifted the political landscape. President Laura Fernandez, who took office earlier this year, has embraced a security agenda modelled partly on El Salvador's approach under President Nayib Bukele, whose mass arrest campaign has won widespread popularity but drawn international criticism for eroding due process.

Key Perspectives

Costa Rican government: The new mega-prison is a necessary tool to reassert state control over the prison system and combat organised crime. President Fernandez and Justice Minister Aguilar have framed the facility as a deterrent and a means to secure public safety. Regional leaders imitating the Bukele model: Peruvian, Colombian and Brazilian politicians see mega-prisons as a proven recipe for reducing crime and gaining public support, often citing El Salvador's reduced homicide rates. Human rights advocates and critics: Mass incarceration and the suspension of basic rights may suppress crime in the short term but risk creating long-term human rights violations, overcrowding and a cycle of state repression.

What to Watch

  • The first prisoner transfers to CACCO at the end of October and whether the facility reduces homicides or prison violence.
  • Progress on Peru's and Colombia's mega-prison plans, and the outcome of Brazil's presidential election, where Flavio Bolsonaro's proposal could become policy.
  • International human rights organisations' responses and potential legal challenges to the new facilities.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workSubscribe