President Laura Fernández pledged to build a "megacárcel" to combat rising crime during her inauguration ceremony in San José on Friday [1].
This shift toward a "mano dura" or hard-line security policy marks a significant departure for Costa Rica. The move aligns the country with a broader regional trend of aggressive incarceration strategies to curb gang violence and organized crime.
Fernández, who is 39 years old [2], outlined her vision for a "third republic" during her speech on May 8, 2026 [1]. Central to this vision is the construction of a massive prison facility designed to isolate violent offenders and dismantle criminal networks. The strategy is explicitly inspired by the methods used by Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, where thousands of suspected gang members were imprisoned in a similar mega-facility [3].
During the ceremony, Fernández said that the new security approach is necessary to restore order and safety to the streets. The president-elect positioned the megaprison as a cornerstone of her administration's commitment to public safety. This approach reflects a conservative political stance that prioritizes immediate containment of criminals over traditional rehabilitative justice models [3].
Fernández will lead the country for a four-year term [4]. Her victory represents a continuity of the political direction set by her predecessor, Rodrigo Chaves, though her focus on a Bukele-style prison system signals an escalation in the state's willingness to use mass incarceration as a primary tool of governance [5].
Critics of the "mano dura" approach often point to potential human rights violations and the risk of overcrowded facilities. However, the president-elect said that the urgency of the crime wave justifies these measures. The construction of the megaprison is expected to be a primary focus of her first term as she seeks to implement these hard-line policies across the nation [3].
“President Laura Fernández pledged to build a "megacárcel" to combat rising crime”
The adoption of a 'mano dura' policy in Costa Rica suggests a regional shift toward authoritarian security models in Central America. By mirroring the El Salvadoran approach, Fernández is betting that mass incarceration will provide the quick results necessary to maintain political support amidst rising insecurity, potentially altering the country's long-standing reputation for democratic stability and human rights.
