Costa Rica Inaugurates Mega-Prison Modeled After El Salvador's Infamous Facility

Costa Rica has opened a new $35 million maximum-security prison, the High Containment Center against Organized Crime (CACCO), with the first inmates arriving this week. The facility, built with technical assistance from the Salvadoran government, is designed to house up to 5,100 inmates and represents a significant shift in the country's approach to crime.

Images released by the justice ministry showed prisoners in orange jumpsuits with shaved heads, a scene reminiscent of El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT). This new facility is a cornerstone of Costa Rica's "tough on crime" strategy, aimed at addressing a recent surge in violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime.

Rising Violence and a New Approach

Costa Rica, historically considered one of Latin America's safest nations, has experienced a sharp increase in crime in recent years. The country recorded a record 907 homicides in 2023, primarily attributed to disputes between criminal groups vying for control of drug trafficking routes. This escalating insecurity became a major concern for citizens and a key factor in the recent presidential election.

In response, the government has adopted a more aggressive stance. Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar stated that CACCO is "a monument to national security, a forceful response to organized crime, and a guarantee that the state will exercise its authority without hesitation." The prison is also expected to alleviate overcrowding in the existing system.

El Salvador's Model and Regional Trends

The design and operational strategy for CACCO are heavily influenced by El Salvador's CECOT, a mega-prison that has become a symbol of President Nayib Bukele's controversial security policies. Under a state of emergency declared in 2022, El Salvador has imprisoned over 91,000 individuals, significantly reducing crime rates but drawing widespread accusations of human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests, and deaths in custody.

Costa Rica's former president, Rodrigo Chaves, sought inspiration from Bukele's success in reducing homicides, leading to the collaboration on the new prison project. El Salvador's President Bukele donated the prison's design to Costa Rica.

This trend of building large-scale, high-security facilities is not unique to Costa Rica and El Salvador. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa opened a similar prison last year, and Honduras has also planned such a facility. The approach has gained traction among regional leaders grappling with similar security challenges.

Organized Crime in Costa Rica

For decades, Costa Rica served primarily as a transit country for drugs. However, its extensive coastline and porous borders made it an attractive base for Mexican and Colombian cartels. The establishment of a new cargo terminal at the Caribbean port of Limón transformed it into a significant transshipment point for cocaine destined for Europe, according to the U.S. State Department. The country has also seen the presence of major cartels, including Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco, Colombia's Clan del Golfo, and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, alongside Italian mafias and a proliferation of local cartels.

Vanda Felbab-Brown, an organized crime researcher at the Brookings Institution, noted that the cartels' interest in new routes and inter-cartel rivalries have fueled local conflicts and increased homicides. The development of local drug markets has further exacerbated violence, overwhelming authorities.

Human Rights Concerns

While the new prison is presented as a solution to rising crime, El Salvador's experience with CECOT raises concerns. Human rights groups have documented thousands of arbitrary arrests, alleging that the rapid pace of detentions and quota systems have led to the wrongful imprisonment of innocent individuals. Rights such as the right to be informed of detention reasons, access to legal counsel, and visitation have been suspended under the state of emergency in El Salvador. At least 564 people have died in state custody in El Salvador, according to local human rights organizations, and released inmates have reported allegations of beatings and torture.