US EditionCosta Rica looks to El Salvador in announcing new prison and tough-on-crime reforms
- On Friday in San Jose, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves announced plans to build a new prison modeled after El Salvador's maximum-security gang facility CECOT.
- Chaves's announcement follows El Salvador's tough-on-crime policies, which include a three-year state of emergency with 85,000 arrests and a prison designed to house dangerous gang members.
- Chaves said Costa Rica will restrict conjugal visits, shut down prison shops, and tighten family food deliveries to stop drugs and illicit activities inside prisons.
- Costa Rica experienced a record high of 907 homicides in 2023, with a slight decline to 880 in 2024, indicating ongoing violence despite government interventions. Meanwhile, Chaves mentioned efforts are underway to obtain the funding necessary to advance this initiative.
- The prison project signals Costa Rica’s shift toward harsh crime control inspired by El Salvador’s strategy, amid protests over rights restrictions affecting inmates and their families.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves said on Friday, May 2, that his country is moving forward in an “alliance” with the government of El Salvador towards the construction of a new prison for 5,000 prisoners. During an inspection of the La Reforma Penitentiary Center—one of the largest prisons in the country—President Chaves announced that he is working on the search for funding to build a prison with the same design as the Salvadoran Terrorism …
Associated Press News
Costa Rica looks to El Salvador in announcing new prison and tough-on-crime reforms
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves has taken another step in his shift toward a tough-on-crime stance, announcing plans to build a new prison in the Central American nation modeled on the maximum security gang prison in El Salvador.
The project of a “megacárcel” that has among its plans the government of the Republic would have a cost of approximately $35 million and would allow to enter 5,000 prisoners, according to the Minister of Justice and Peace, Gerald Campos, this Friday, shortly before noon.The statement was made by the hierarch during a visit by the president of the Republic, Rodrigo Chaves, to the Center of Institutional Care (CAI) Jorge Arturo Montero, to “verify…
Costa Rica Plans to Build Prison Modeled After El Salvador’s CECOT, President Chaves Confirms.
El Salvador’s high-security prison becomes a global reference point for anti-terrorism and public safety strategies. Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves has officially announced that his administration is seeking funding to construct a prison facility inspired by El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a high-security complex internationally recognized for its role in combating organized crime. The confirmation came through Presiden…
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