{"id":12138,"date":"2026-10-28T22:23:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12138"},"modified":"2026-10-28T22:23:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:23:48","slug":"costa-ricas-mega-prison-receives-first-inmates-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12138","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica\u2019s mega-prison receives first inmates | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Laura Fernandez inaugurated the $35m mega-prison built to house up to 5,100 inmates near San Jose.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 28 Oct 2026<\/span>28 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A newly opened maximum-security mega-prison in Costa Rica has received its first batch of inmates. The prison was built with the help of the Salvadoran government on the outskirts of the capital, San Jose, the country\u2019s Justice Ministry announced.<\/p>\n

The Costa Rican Justice Ministry shared images on Tuesday of 123 inmates dressed in orange, seated with their heads shaved and bowed and their hands behind their necks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCosta Rica is writing a new chapter in its penitentiary history,\u201d Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The new prison<\/a> is called the High-Containment Center Against Organized Crime (CACCO) and constitutes a symbol of a new \u201ctough on crime\u201d approach championed by President Laura Fernandez<\/a>\u2019s administration. It has a capacity for 5,100 inmates.<\/p>\n

The CACCO was built with the help of the Salvadoran government<\/a> on the outskirts of Costa Rica\u2019s capital, San Jose, at a cost of $35m. Fernandez inaugurated it on October 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cCACCO is a monument to national security, a forceful response to organized crime, and a guarantee that the state will exercise its authority without hesitation,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

The new facility has a capacity equivalent to 20 percent of the country\u2019s prison population and \u201cwill also help reduce overcrowding in the prison system\u201d, according to Aguilar.<\/p>\n

Costa Rica<\/a>, long regarded as one of the safest countries in Latin America, has in recent years experienced a sharp rise in violence linked to drug trafficking and organised crime. It witnessed a record-setting 905 homicides in 2023, followed by 876 in 2024 and 873 in 2025.<\/p>\n

Authorities attribute most killings to disputes between criminal groups over drug trafficking routes and markets.<\/p>\n

Right-wing leaders in other Latin American countries have also sought to replicate the mega-prison model.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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President Laura Fernandez inaugurated the $35m mega-prison built to house up to 5,100 inmates near San Jose. Published On 28 Oct 202628 Oct 2026 A newly opened maximum-security mega-prison in Costa Rica has received its first batch of inmates. The prison was built with the help of the Salvadoran government on the outskirts of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t