Q COSTARICA — “A prison is not a hotel,” the Minister of Justice, Gabriel Aguilar, told inmates in the high-security wing of the Centro de Atención Institucional (CAI) Terrazas of the La Reforma prison, who continued a hunger strike on Monday, protesting changes to their food rations.
Inmates claim that the quality and quantity of food have decreased in recent days, prompting the protest. Reports indicate that around 2,000 inmates have joined the demonstration.
When questioned by the press, the Minister said that the inmates could continue the strike “for as many days as they wished.”
The change in containers
Among the changes implemented by the Ministry of Justice is the use of plastic containers for serving food, is part of a guideline that indicates that food will be delivered in plastic containers similar to those used in the future High Containment Center for Organized Crime (CACCO), which is still under construction.
The changes are also similar to those used in the mega-prison built in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele’s administration.
The inmates claim that they are being served smaller portions of food in these containers.
According to the NGO, the Asociación Ayudando a los Privados de Libertad—Association Helping the Incarcerated, the Salvadoran government donated more than 5,000 of these containers.
The association added that the inmates feel they are being tortured by the government and the Ministry of Justice, since in the morning they only receive a cup of unsweetened coffee and a soda cracker, while their last meal is given to them at 4:00 p.m.
The Directive
The document circulating and shared by the NGO details that the order was issued by the Nutrition Department and that, starting Wednesday, May 13, specifically in the afternoon, food will begin to be provided to the entire prison population in the new containers.
In addition, the following warnings are listed:
- There will be only one cup per inmate.
- Inmates must hand over their cup each time the food cart passes by so that they can receive the next portion of food.
- If an inmate destroys the cup, a report will be filed against them.
- In the case of communal cells, if a cup is destroyed, a report will be filed against all inmates living in that cell.
The protest is now in its fifth consecutive day, raising concerns about the health of the inmates.