COLOMBIA · PRISONS
Key Facts
- Hearing Justice Minister Iván Cancino spoke at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday 4 November about the prison crisis.
- Crowding Short-term holding cells hold 18,824 people in 9,686 places, an overcrowding rate of 94.34%.
- Funding The government is studying sales of idle state assets and private partnerships to pay for new prisons.
- Timing Cancino said the president will announce the mega-prison plan very soon, with no construction dates yet.
- Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.1 points (November 2026 edition).
Colombia’s justice minister told the country’s top rights court on Wednesday 4 November that the state may sell idle assets to pay for new mega-prisons. The hearing came as short-term holding cells hold nearly twice as many people as they were built for.
Justice Minister Iván Cancino gave no amounts, no list of properties and no construction dates. He said President Abelardo de la Espriella will announce the structure of the mega-prisons very soon.
What the Minister Told the Court
Cancino spoke at a follow-up hearing held by the Constitutional Court in Bogotá. The court has repeatedly declared the conditions of Colombia’s prison system unconstitutional and keeps checking what the state does about it.
Cancino said the government is looking for ways to finance mega-prisons, including by selling state assets it considers unproductive. A review of those assets is under way with the Finance Ministry.
He said the president will announce the structure of the promised mega-prisons very soon. He gave no timeline for construction.
How Bad the Overcrowding Is
Colombia’s short-term holding cells, mostly in police stations and immediate-reaction units, hold 18,824 people in 9,686 places. That is an overcrowding rate of 94.34%, and most of those held are awaiting trial.
Magistrate Jorge Enrique Ibáñez presented the figures to the hearing. The court said the situation remains grave and called for urgent action.
In Plain English, Who Is Who
Iván Cancino is Colombia’s justice minister under President Abelardo de la Espriella. The Constitutional Court is the country’s top court on constitutional rights, and it supervises how the state fixes the prison system.
Mega-prisons are large high-security prisons the president promised, mainly for high-risk inmates. The government has spoken of ten of them, away from city centres.
A derecho de superficie, or surface right, lets the state give a private party the right to build or run projects on state land. The state keeps ownership, and Cancino said the government is studying the tool.
What Else Is Planned
Cancino said the government will finish prisons left unfinished by earlier administrations. He said it does not intend to stop at promises.
Separately, the justice ministry is studying a pilot to hold top criminals on ships in Colombian waters, Cancino said in September. He said then that the plan was still in study and technical design.
In early September the government said it plans ten mega-prisons outside city centres and is studying public-private partnerships to fund part of them. No total cost or list of sites has been released.
What It Means for You
For US readers, Colombia’s prison crisis matters because the justice ministry says criminal command networks and corruption persist in traditional prisons, as recent raids show. Colombia also holds suspects in its jails while extradition requests are processed, some of them wanted by courts abroad.
Investors in infrastructure and public-private projects should watch whether the asset sales and partnerships become tenders. No amounts have been named, so any contract is still a long way off.
What Is Not Known
The cost, number of sites and timetable for the mega-prisons are not public. The presidency is due to announce the structure very soon, according to Cancino.
Which state properties would be sold is open. The Finance Ministry’s inventory will show it, and Cancino said the financing details went to that ministry.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Colombia’s justice minister say about mega-prisons?
Iván Cancino said the government is seeking financing, including sales of idle state assets, and that the president will announce the plan very soon. He gave no amounts or dates.
How overcrowded are Colombia’s holding cells?
Short-term holding cells hold 18,824 people in 9,686 places, an overcrowding rate of 94.34%. Most of those held are awaiting trial.
Will Colombia use prison ships?
The justice ministry is studying a pilot to hold top criminals on ships in Colombian waters. Minister Cancino said in September that the plan was still in study and design.
Why is the Constitutional Court involved?
The court has repeatedly declared prison conditions unconstitutional and monitors the state’s response. The 4 November hearing was a follow-up on that supervision.
Sources: Constitutional Court of Colombia, follow-up hearing on the prison system, statements by Justice Minister Iván Cancino and Magistrate Jorge Enrique Ibáñez, 4 November 2026; Ministry of Justice and Law, statements on prison ships, 24 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief