Chaves and Bukele lay the first stone of Costa Rica’s mega-prison for the most violent inmates

San José .- Costa Rican President, Rodrigo Chaves, and his Salvadoran counterpart, Nayib Bukele, laid the first stone this Wednesday of a mega-prison inspired by the model implemented by El Salvador, with the aim of combating organized crime “with force” at a time when Costa Rica is recording historic homicide figures.

Chaves and Bukele gave a press conference at the site where the construction of the Centro de Alta Contención de Crimen Organizado (CACCO) prison began, a work based on the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), the Salvadoran mega-prison for gang members and a symbol of the “war” against these gangs. “There is no other way to solve it but with force, there are proponents who speak of investing in education and giving children opportunities, but that is before the problem begins. These criminals are not children, they graduated from the university of crime (…) The only way to solve a problem that already exists is with force, with the force of the State. Every State is stronger than its criminal groups,” Bukele affirmed.

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The future CACCO, which will cost $35 million, will have five modules with a total capacity of 5,100 inmates, and according to the Government, it will serve to imprison the most violent prisoners there.

Stricter Penalties for Crime

The project is being developed at a time when Costa Rica is facing record-high homicide figures, with around 900 each year, of which 70% is attributed by the authorities to drug trafficking. «Costa Rica is blessed to be able to solve this problem before it becomes like in El Salvador and that will save lives, economy and suffering. In the end, Costa Rica makes the decisions and does the things that Costa Rica needs, but our experience I know is an important input», added Bukele.

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For his part, Chaves indicated that the Costa Rican population “must live without fear” and that “the full weight of the law must fall on criminals,” for which he asked the Judicial Power and the Legislative Assembly to “join the fight” against organized crime to modify the legal framework and implement more rigorous sanctions.

«For years they sold us dangerous lies, they told us that organized crime is too complex to confront (…) It is not too complex, for the Judiciary and a majority in Congress, the human rights of prisoners are more important than the rights of the victims. They do not see the sequence of what the data, science, and analysis tell us that what happened in El Salvador, is happening here today,» highlighted Chaves.

Controversial Visit During Election Campaign

Bukele’s visit has been controversial as it takes place in the midst of the political campaign in Costa Rica leading up to the elections on February 1st, in which the official candidate, Laura Fernández, is leading in the polls.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Costa Rica (TSE) rejected last Monday an appeal filed by a citizen who intended to prevent Bukele’s visit, but warned that the president cannot intervene in internal affairs.

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“The presence of Nayib Bukele is important, it is legitimate and it honors us, that’s how I answer those who have spoken nonsense (…) It is a lack of respect from the Court to tell (Bukele) come but behave, it is a lack of respect for which I apologize,” said Chaves. Last December, Chaves visited El Salvador, where he met with Bukele and toured the CECOT, while Bukele had already visited Costa Rica on November 12, 2024, and toured that country’s main prison, warning of “symptoms” of criminality similar to those faced by El Salvador with gangs.