Q COSTA RICA — Just five days after Costa Rica’s new Centro de Alta Contención y Crimen Organizado (CACCO)—Center for High Containment and Organized Crime—received its first inmates, prison officers found improvised weapons and other unauthorized items during an inspection of a dormitory.
The search took place in one of the dormitories in Wing Four of the complex. The Ministry of Justice said it was the first inspection of living spaces in that section of the recently opened facility.
Officers seized seven sharpened plastic spoons and a homemade stabbing weapon made from a piece of glass with a paper handle. They also found a metal fragment detached from a bunk bed, a glass container that apparently held medication, 10 improvised pillows, strips of blankets and a makeshift needle made from wire. Authorities did not identify the substance in the container or say who had altered the objects.
The discoveries came soon after the CACCO began operating on October 26, when the ministry transferred its first 123 inmates.
There are currently more than 600 inmates housed in Costa Rica’s new high-security prison, according to an official confirmation by Costa Rica’s Ministry of Justice on November 3, 2026.
The facility is designed to hold up to 5,100 people across five modules. The government has described it as a key project for managing prisoners considered highly dangerous. Its security features include continuous video surveillance, control posts, and prison officers assigned to monitor the site.
Analysis: an early test of security
The seizure does not, by itself, establish how the prohibited items entered the dormitory or whether a broader security failure occurred. The ministry has not said how the objects were made or introduced, identified those responsible, or announced disciplinary sanctions tied to the finds.
Still, the timing is notable. The CACCO is intended to strengthen control over high-risk inmates, yet the first inspection reported by the ministry uncovered sharpened utensils, a glass weapon and a piece of tampered furniture. That makes the incident an early test of the facility’s day-to-day security procedures, not just its surveillance systems.
The ministry says officers conduct routine rounds and inspections to find unauthorized items and prevent threats to inmates and staff. Whether those measures can consistently detect improvised objects—and prevent materials from being altered in the first place—will be important as the prison population grows.