Costa Rica mega-prison receives first inmates amid crime crackdown

Costa Rica’s new maximum-security mega-prison has received its first group of inmates. The High-Containment Center Against Organized Crime, known as CACCO, took in 123 prisoners on Tuesday, according to the Justice Ministry. Images shared by the ministry showed the inmates in orange uniforms, with shaved heads and bowed heads, their hands placed behind their necks.

Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar said the country “is writing a new chapter in its penitentiary history.” The facility, built with assistance from the Salvadoran government on the outskirts of San Jose, has a capacity for 5,100 inmates and cost $35 million. President Laura Fernandez inaugurated it on October 15, calling it 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 a symbol of the tough-on-crime approach championed by Fernandez’s administration. It can hold about 20 percent of the country’s prison population, and Aguilar noted it will help reduce overcrowding. Costa Rica, long considered one of the safest countries in Latin America, has seen a sharp rise in violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime. Homicides reached a record 905 in 2023, with 876 in 2024 and 873 in 2025. Authorities attribute most killings to disputes between criminal groups over drug trafficking routes and markets.