President Laura Fernandez inaugurated a 5,100-capacity high-security prison, the High-Containment Centre Against Organised Crime (CACCO), in Costa Rica on Wednesday, with the first inmate transfers due at the end of October. The move follows near-record homicide levels, with 873 killings in 2025, driven partly by fighting between criminal groups over drug routes, and mirrors the approach of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele (whose mass-arrest campaign cut killings but drew rights-abuse allegations). It also reflects a regional trend, with leaders or candidates in Peru, Colombia and Brazil pledging similar mega-prisons despite warnings from critics about overcrowding, due process violations and torture.