New ‘mega-jail’ designed to house Costa Rica's worst criminals was inspired by El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison
A new maximum security ‘mega-jail’, which has 5,100-beds and took nine-months to build, has opened in Costa Rica.
The Centre for High Containment of Organised Crime (CACCO), which is situated on the outskirts of the capital, San Jose, has just accepted the first 123 inmates who will now be calling the $35 million prison home.
The new facility has been touted as a symbol of President Laura Fernández’s commitment to a new ‘tough on crime’ stance in response to a rise in organised crime.
It’ll also help to ease overcrowding in existing jails within the country.
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During the official opening ceremony, Fernández put some of the country's most dangerous inmates on notice, warning that they will be top of the transfer list when it comes to CACCO.
Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar said: “Costa Rica is writing a new chapter in its penitentiary history.
“CACCO is a monument to national security, a forceful response to organised crime, and a guarantee that the state will exercise its authority without hesitation.”
Costa Rica is regarded as one of the safest Latin American countries, but it has seen a sharp rise in criminal activity linked to drug trafficking and organised crime in recent times.
In 2023, the country had a record number of homicides, however, officials say the homicide numbers have since stabilised.
The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said that around 70 percent of those deaths can be attributed to rival criminal groups fighting over drug markets.
The new mega-jail is inspired by notorious CECOT jail
The newly opened jail is modelled on El Salvador's Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), which has been dubbed ‘the worst prison on Earth’ and was visited by Richard Madeley (yes, that Richard Madeley) earlier this year for a Channel 5 documentary.
The jail's director, Belarmino García, allegedly told inmates the El Salvadorian prison was a 'cemetery of living men'.
In the documentary, he opened up about the brutal living conditions for inmates at CECOT, which include the lights being kept on 24/7.
"It's simply part of the protocol," García said when asked about the decision.
"I need to be able to see what they're doing."
The inmates sleep on metal bed frames without mattresses, are only given around 1,800 calories’ worth of food per day and have just a Bible for recreation.
The men are either in their mega-cells or chained up for 23.5 hours of the day, with just half an hour for exercise and daily Bible study.
Madeley explained there is even an 'electronic bubble' surrounding the prison, which means that if any electronic device were to be smuggled in, it wouldn't work.
Punishments at the prison include being sent off to tiny isolation cells for up to 30 days.
Unlike the rest of the prison, these cells are pitch black and ‘totally silent’ with inmates forced to feel their way around in the darkness to find their bed, sink and toilet.
"[The main prison] would seem like freedom," Madeley said.
"Boy, you would do exactly what you are told."
There are a total of 96 isolation cells inside the prison's walls, which García claims are rarely used due to the excellent discipline at the jail.
Topics: World News, Prison
Claire Reid