New prison in Colón for drug traffickers

The Minister of Government, Roger Tejada, has announced the creation of a new jail for drug trafficking crimes in the province of Colón, to reduce the high rate of overcrowding in prisons in Panama.

Tejada maintained that Colón is one of the provinces in which the largest drug seizures and cases of murders related to drug trafficking occur, so it is “urgent” to build a penitentiary center to provide treatment to inmates sentenced for this type of crime.

He also recognized that there is a flaw in the process of resocialization of prisoners, since 65% of inmates who leave prison re-offend.

Given this situation, he said that work is being done on the creation of a resocialization center in which inmates can reintegrate in a way that is useful to society and that they are not a permanent burden for the State.

He also explained that they are working on the relocation process of the Cecilia Orillac de Chiari Women’s Rehabilitation Center, currently located today on Domingo Díaz Avenue, to the community of Las Garzas de Pacora, and on the design and construction of other penitentiary centers in the interior of the country to reduce overcrowding in some prisons.

Statistics from the Directorate of the Penitentiary System reveal that until November 2023 the number of inmates in prisons reached 23,342, with an overpopulation of 8,751 detainees, of which 15,080 (65%) are sentenced and 8,262 (35%) have pending judicial processes.

Official data confirm that prisons such as La Nueva Joya, La Joya, La Joyita, in the province of Panama, the Nueva Esperanza prison in Colón, and the Women’s Rehabilitation Center have exceeded their capacity.