Costa Rica, usually seen as Central America’s peaceful paradise, is gearing up to build a massive new maximum-security prison — taking cues from El Salvador’s controversial mega-prison.

Why? The country’s facing a surge in gang-related violence, with 2023 marking its deadliest year on record. Overcrowding in existing prisons (nearly 30% over capacity) has made it easy for jailed gang leaders to keep running operations from inside.

The new facility, called the Center for High Containment of Organized Crime (CACCO), will hold up to 5,100 inmates — boosting national prison capacity by 40%. El Salvador is pitching in with designs, security tech, and its own experience from building the 40,000-inmate Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which is at the heart of President Nayib Bukele’s hardline anti-gang strategy.

Officials say the $35M project is crucial to prevent riots, hostage situations, and a total system collapse. Critics warn that CECOT has faced serious human rights abuse allegations — which El Salvador’s government denies.

Construction kicks off this year, but the real question is: will this mega-prison bring peace to Costa Rica, or import El Salvador’s most controversial policies?