Costa Rica opens mega-prison as Bukele model embraced across Latin America

President Laura Fernandez says mega-prison is part of ‘tough-on-crime model’ embraced by her government.

Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez speaks during the inauguration of the High-Containment Centre Against Organised Crime (CACCO) in Alajuela, Costa Rica, on October 14, 2026 [Mayela Lopez/Reuters]

Costa Rica has announced the opening of a new mega-prison amid near-record homicide levels and growing organised crime, as countries across the region embrace police crackdowns that have proven popular but often weaken key civil liberties .

President Laura Fernandez opened the High-Containment Centre Against Organised Crime, or CACCO, on Wednesday. The prison will have capacity for 5,100 people, equivalent to about 20 percent of the country’s current prison population.

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“The CACCO will force criminals to face a new model – a tough-on-crime model. Costa Rica will become a global benchmark for prison security,” Fernandez said during an inauguration ceremony.

Candidates across Latin America have embraced mega-prisons, seeking to replicate the policies of Nayib Bukele , the president of El Salvador, who has won widespread popularity through a campaign of mass arrests and the suspension of basic rights in the name of combating crime.

Costa Rica , long spared from high levels of violent crime compared with its neighbours, saw a record-setting 905 homicides in 2023, followed by 876 in 2024 and 873 in 2025.

Analysts say that is partly due to increased fighting between criminal groups over lucrative drug routes.

The first transfers to Costa Rica’s new mega-prison will take place at the end of October, with Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar saying the facility will help the government reassert control over the prison system and diminish infiltration by organised crime.

Right-wing leaders in other Latin American countries have also sought to replicate the mega-prison model.

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, inaugurated in July, has announced plans to tour El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), in anticipation of creating a similar facility in her country. CECOT can hold about 40,000 people.

In Colombia, meanwhile, newly elected leader Abelardo de la Espriella campaigned for the presidency, in part, on a pledge to build 10 mega-prisons. He took office in August.

Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, is currently in the midst of its own presidential election, and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has advanced to the final round of the vote. His platform also includes building five mega-prisons, citing the Salvadoran model.

El Salvador first imposed a “state of exception” under Bukele in 2022, expanding police and military powers.

That emergency declaration has been credited with a sharp drop in that country’s homicides, but rights groups say it has led to severe rights abuses and has been weaponised against critics of the government.

The “state of exception” has also resulted in mass arrests and mass trials, with rulings delivered against hundreds of defendants at a time. Some defendants have been detained without charge.

While the Bukele administration frequently touts its success in dismantling the gangs, the government has continuously extended the state of exception since it was first imposed.

Critics have warned that conditions inside mega-prisons are often poor, with imprisoned people facing overcrowding, due process violations and alleged torture in facilities like CECOT.

总统劳拉·费尔南德斯表示，巨型监狱是她的政府奉行的“严厉打击犯罪模式”的一部分。

2026年10月14日，哥斯达黎加总统劳拉·费尔南德斯在哥斯达黎加阿拉胡埃拉举行的打击有组织犯罪高级拘留中心（CACCO）落成典礼上发表讲话。[Mayela Lopez/路透社]

哥斯达黎加宣布开设一座新的巨型监狱，与此同时，该国凶杀案数量接近历史最高水平，有组织犯罪日益猖獗。该地区各国纷纷采取警方打击行动，这些行动虽然广受欢迎，但往往会削弱重要的公民自由。

劳拉·费尔南德斯总统周三为打击有组织犯罪的高级别隔离中心（CACCO）揭幕。该监狱可容纳5100人，约占该国目前监狱人口的20%。

列表1/3：劳拉·费尔南德斯宣誓就任哥斯达黎加新总统

名单2/3：哥斯达黎加总统暗示对美国在该国开展军事行动持开放态度

名单3/3：哥斯达黎加部长因未经批准与特朗普在美国会面而被解职

“CACCO将迫使犯罪分子面对一种新的模式——一种严厉打击犯罪的模式。哥斯达黎加将成为全球监狱安全的标杆，”费尔南德斯在落成典礼上说道。

拉丁美洲各地的候选人纷纷支持巨型监狱，试图效仿萨尔瓦多总统纳伊布·布克莱的政策。布克莱通过大规模逮捕和以打击犯罪为名暂停基本权利的运动赢得了广泛的支持。

与邻国相比，哥斯达黎加长期以来免受暴力犯罪的困扰，但在 2023 年，该国凶杀案数量创下历史新高，达到 905 起，2024 年为 876 起，2025 年为 873 起。

分析人士称，部分原因是犯罪团伙之间为争夺利润丰厚的毒品走私路线而加剧的冲突。

哥斯达黎加新建的巨型监狱将于 10 月底迎来首批囚犯转移。司法部长加布里埃尔·阿吉拉尔表示，该设施将帮助政府重新掌控监狱系统，并减少有组织犯罪的渗透。

拉丁美洲其他国家的右翼领导人也试图复制巨型监狱模式。

今年7月就职的秘鲁总统藤森庆子宣布计划参观萨尔瓦多的恐怖分子拘留中心（CECOT），以期在本国建立类似的设施。CECOT可容纳约4万人。

与此同时，在哥伦比亚，新当选的领导人阿韦拉多·德拉·埃斯普里利亚竞选总统时，部分竞选承诺是建造10座巨型监狱。他于8月就职。

巴西是拉丁美洲最大的国家，目前正在举行总统选举，右翼参议员弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗已进入最终投票。他的竞选纲领还包括建造五座巨型监狱，并援引了萨尔瓦多的模式。

萨尔瓦多在布克莱执政期间于 2022 年首次实施“紧急状态”，扩大了警察和军队的权力。

紧急状态声明被认为使该国凶杀案数量大幅下降，但人权组织表示，该声明导致了严重的人权侵犯，并被用来打击政府批评者。

这种“例外状态”也导致了大规模逮捕和大规模审判，一次性对数百名被告作出判决。一些被告甚至在未被起诉的情况下就被拘留。

尽管布克莱政府经常吹嘘其在瓦解黑帮方面取得的成功，但自首次实施紧急状态以来，政府一直在不断延长紧急状态。

批评人士警告说，大型监狱内部条件往往很差，被监禁者面临过度拥挤、正当程序遭到侵犯以及在 CECOT 等设施中遭受酷刑等问题。