Costa Rica's CACCO Mega-Prison Opens Wednesday — Panama Is Already Watching the Model

A guard tower stands behind security fences topped with razor wire at the High-Security Center for Organized Crime Containment (CACCO) in Alajuela, Costa Rica, on October 8, 2026. The mega-prison, modeled after El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT, is scheduled to be inaugurated on October 14, 2026, as Costa Rica seeks to strengthen its response to organized crime. (Credit: Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP via Getty Images)

The Briefing

• Costa Rica inaugurates CACCO this Wednesday, October 14, at 12:30 p.m. — a $35 million, 5,100-bed maximum-security complex built in nine months inside the La Reforma penitentiary grounds in San Rafael de Alajuela, roughly 25 kilometers northwest of San José.
• The facility uses El Salvador's CECOT as a design reference but is legally bound to provide inmates with natural light and outdoor time; orange uniforms with no pockets, elastic, or cords will be mandatory for all CACCO inmates for the first time in over 50 years.
• On October 1, Costa Rica's official anti-torture body formally demanded CACCO not open — the body's strongest intervention yet — while Panama's Security Minister toured the facility the same day, underscoring the prison's growing regional significance.