The baby calls out, reaching towards a metal detector security gate. “Mama, mama,” she says. A prison officer waves her through. It’s visiting time at El Buen Pastor prison, Colombia’s largest detention centre for women. Behind the black door, half a dozen women wait anxiously. Dressed in her best clothes, the mother folds herself around the child.
Inside, the prison is crumbling. Black mould creeps up the walls; broken windows have been replaced with plastic sheets. Inmates say five to six people share cells built for two.