Chile Accelerates Prison Development With Maximum Security: The Budget Is IDR 1.5T, Equipped With Special Forces

Prison illustration. (Unsplash/Matthew Ansley)

JAKARTA - President Gabriel Boric on Thursday announced Chile would accelerate the construction of a new maximum security prison in the region that includes the capital Santiago, to help fight organized crimes.

This was conveyed by President Boric when announcing the steps taken, after chairing a cabinet meeting to discuss steps to combat organized crime, particularly in metropolitan areas.

"The construction of a new maximum security prison in the Metropolitan Region for effective control of organized crime gangs," President Boric tweeted on social media X, as quoted Friday, July 19.

"The formation of special forces in Gendarmerie is trained to face threats in maintaining order among prisoners with maximum security. With support from the Government and the best international experience," he continued.

Citing Reuters, the new facility will cost around $ 95.4 million. It will have a maximum capacity of around 500 inmates, as part of a plan to add 600 places with the current maximum security.

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— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) July 18, 2024

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As many as 200 other places will be added to prisons in northern Chile, areas with higher levels of organized crime.

"In Chile, we will not allow what happens in other countries where organized crimes have mastered prisons without state control," President Boric told a news conference.

"That's not going to happen in Chile," he said.

President Boric said there was an "urgency sense" and he would send a bill to Congress to speed up the process and construction of the facility.

The announcement comes after two mass shootings at Santiago killed nine people, including four teenagers, in the past week. President Boric announced suspects in both cases had been detained.

It is known that crime has been in the spotlight of President Boric since taking office, dominating most of his agenda. Last year, he announced an increase in the budget of 1.5 billion US dollars to fight crime after three police officers were killed. Private spending on security also increased as it became the main concern of voters.

Separately, Chile's Interior Minister Carolina Toha noted, the country is not planning to follow El Salvador's "big prison" strategy, but aims to achieve European prison standards.