COSTA RICA · SECURITY
Key Facts
- The country Costa Rica is a Central American democracy popular with US travellers for its beaches, volcanoes and rainforests.
- What happened President Laura Fernández opened a high-security prison for gang and organized-crime inmates on Wednesday 14 October.
- Where The prison stands inside the La Reforma prison complex in San Rafael de Alajuela, near San José.
- Size and cost It has five housing blocks for 5,100 inmates and cost about US$37 million to build.
- The model Its design follows plans donated by El Salvador, based on that country’s giant anti-gang prison.
- Next step The first prisoners are due to be moved in at the end of October.
- Power Index Costa Rica ranks 9th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 36.5 points (October 2026 edition).
Costa Rica opened a high-security gang prison for 5,100 inmates on Wednesday, in the La Reforma complex near San José. President Laura Fernández, who took over from Rodrigo Chaves in May, asked for a police officer’s accused killer to be the first inmate.
The country, long sold to Americans as a peaceful “pura vida” haven, built the jail on plans donated by El Salvador. The US State Department already tells travellers that violent crime, including homicide and armed robbery, affects tourists in Costa Rica.
A Prison Built on El Salvador’s Plans
The new gang prison is called the High Containment and Organized Crime Centre, known by its Spanish initials CACCO. It sits inside the La Reforma prison complex in San Rafael de Alajuela, CRHoy, the San José news site, reported.
The opening ceremony began at 12:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET) on Wednesday, with Fernández and senior members of her government. Justice Minister Gabriel Aguilar, who runs the prison system, opened the centre alongside her.
The design is based on plans donated by the government of El Salvador, the small Central American country led by President Nayib Bukele. It takes as its reference the Terrorism Confinement Centre, or CECOT, the mega jail Bukele built for his crackdown on street gangs.
La Nación, the San José daily, noted that the Salvadoran prison can hold 40,000 people. Costa Rica’s version is far smaller, but it copies the model of large shared cells under tight control.
What Is Inside the New Jail
The gang prison has five separate housing blocks with their own access controls, CRHoy and Radio Monumental, a Costa Rican news radio station, reported. It cost 16,774 million colones (about US$36.8 million at 456 colones to the dollar on 15 October), paid from the national budget.
One block alone holds 1,020 people in cells for 60 inmates each, with beds stacked three high, La Nación reported. Inmates will wear orange uniforms and may not receive clothing from outside, the paper added.
Staff assigned to the gang prison went through intelligence checks to rule out links to criminal groups, CRHoy reported. The prison police will need about 600 officers once it is full, and some posts are not funded until 2027 or 2028, the outlet added.
Aguilar said the most dangerous criminals in the country’s jails will be moved there, Radio Monumental reported. No inmate has been transferred yet, and the ministry expects the first prisoners at the end of October.
A President Who Wants Police Killers Inside
At the ceremony, Fernández asked her justice minister to make the man accused of killing police officer Gerson Rosales the first inmate, CRHoy reported. Rosales was killed on 13 May in Batán, a town in the Caribbean province of Limón.
“Every murderer, every hitman who has killed Costa Rican police, I want in the CACCO, present and future,” Fernández said. Aguilar promised that person would be the first to occupy a cell there, AmeliaRueda.com, a San José news site, reported.
Three men are in pre-trial detention in the Rosales case, and none has been convicted, La Nación reported. Fernández did not name the man she meant or explain the technical criteria behind her request.
Judiciary representatives stayed away from the ceremony, and Fernández blamed the judiciary’s leadership for poor cooperation, Radio Monumental reported. She said it “hurts them to see an iron-fist model,” according to AmeliaRueda.com.
Rodrigo Chaves, her predecessor and now her minister of the presidency and finance, also used his speech to criticise the judiciary, La Nación reported. He said he defends the separation of powers, according to Radio Monumental.
Late and Still Short of Space
Work formally began on 14 January 2026, when Bukele attended the ground-breaking as a guest, CRHoy reported. Chaves, then president, had promised to finish the gang prison in 195 days, a deadline that ran out in late July.
Aguilar then said the work would be done in September, a date that also passed. The works were 95% complete on 21 September, La Nación reported.
Costa Rica’s prisons hold 21,173 adults in space for 13,289, about 160% of capacity, CRHoy said, citing February figures from the national torture-prevention body. The new places would cut that to about 115%, still nearly 3,000 people above real capacity.
The ministry declined to say how much the prison will cost to run each year, CRHoy reported. It said those costs are covered in this year’s budget.
What It Means for You
For US travellers, the gang prison is a sign of how seriously Costa Rica now takes its crime problem. The State Department’s Costa Rica advisory sits at Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, because of crime.
“Violent crime also affects tourists,” the advisory says, listing armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault. The jail changes nothing for visitors directly, but it shows a government betting on El Salvador’s hard-line model.
For Americans who live in or invest in Costa Rica, security has become the government’s signature issue. It runs from the prison’s announced opening date to a probe into the justice minister’s prison raid.
Fernández plans to visit the Salvadoran mega prison on Friday 16 October, Radio Monumental and AmeliaRueda.com reported. She wants to see first-hand how CECOT works, the second outlet said.
What Is Not Known
The exact date of the first transfers has not been announced beyond the end of October. It is also unclear which of the three suspects in the Rosales killing Fernández had in mind.
The yearly cost of running the prison has not been made public. A citizen had asked the constitutional court to halt the opening, Radio Monumental reported on Tuesday, and no ruling has been reported.
More: Costa Rica news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CACCO in Costa Rica?
CACCO is the High Containment and Organized Crime Centre, a new gang prison for high-risk inmates in San Rafael de Alajuela. It holds up to 5,100 people in five housing blocks.
Is the new prison modelled on El Salvador’s CECOT?
Yes, its design is based on plans donated by El Salvador and takes the CECOT mega jail as its reference. It is far smaller, since the Salvadoran prison can hold 40,000 people.
When will prisoners move in?
No inmate had been transferred when the prison opened on Wednesday 14 October. The justice ministry expects the first prisoners at the end of October.
Is Costa Rica safe for US tourists?
The US State Department rates Costa Rica at Level 2, which means travellers should exercise increased caution. It warns that violent crime, including armed robbery and homicide, also affects tourists.
Sources: US State Department, Costa Rica travel advisory, 2 April 2026; CRHoy (opening), 14 October 2026; CRHoy (first inmate), 14 October 2026; CRHoy (delays and overcrowding), 15 October 2026; Radio Monumental, 14 October 2026; AmeliaRueda.com, 14 October 2026; Radio Monumental (appeals), 13 October 2026; La Nación, 14 October 2026; La Nación (first inmate), 14 October 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