Santo Domingo.-After 73 years of service, the National Penitentiary of The Victorybuilt in 1952 by order of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo to imprison and torture opponents, finally begins its gradual closure.
The historic facility, located on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, in the Santo Domingo Norte municipality, became the starkest symbol of overcrowding and prison degradation in the Dominican Republic.
The prison opened on August 17, 1952 with capacity for 1,200 inmates. However, when the transfer process to the new Las Parras prison began, the prison population exceeded 9,300 inmates, a figure that multiplied its original limit by nine.
Various historical versions indicate that in its beginnings, in La Victoria those accused of crimes or robberies were tortured through “softening” beatings.
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La Victoria was also the destination of numerous political opponents, among them young people from the June 14 Movement.
Testimonies from the most feared prison
Among the emblematic prisoners, Rafael “Fafa” Taveras stands out, who was imprisoned on three occasions—one of them for five years—; Roberto Santanatoday director of the country’s penitentiary centers; the journalist José Bujosa Mieses (Chino); and Plato Valdez, among others.
Taveras remembers that he spent a period alone, naked, sleeping on the floor and receiving very poor quality food. Stories like his marked the reputation of the prison.
Start of the transfer to Las Parras
On Wednesday, November 19, the transfer of the first 300 prisoners to the Las Parras Correction and Rehabilitation Center, in San Antonio de Guerra, officially began. Another group of 300 inmates was transferred yesterday, Thursday.
The process, coordinated by the General Directorate of Penitentiary and Correctional Services (DGSPC), is led precisely by Roberto Santana, who decades ago was also a political prisoner in La Victoria.
José de León and Carlos Alonzo. / Archive
Santana reported that the inmates were received by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, educators and lawyers, in charge of preparing individual profiles and guaranteeing an orderly process.
The total closure of the prison will be progressive and marks one of the most important steps in the modernization of the Dominican prison system.
Fires, floods and a long list of irregularities
Throughout its history, La Victoria was the scene of tragedies, such as fires—including one in 1999—and floods, including that generated by Hurricane Georges in 1998. In recent years it was also the epicenter of criminal operations directed from within.
In 2022, authorities dismantled a sophisticated illegal internet system operated by insiders.
A server, a Wi-Fi repeater, 96 routers, 89 surveillance cameras, 29 switches and a fiber optic network extended from Sabana Perdida were used. According to the DGSPC, the structure operated for years and allowed crimes to be coordinated inside and outside the prison.
The detailed report was presented by the former head of the DGSPC Roberto Hernandez Basilio to the then attorney general Miriam German Britoevidencing the level of criminal penetration that existed in the penitentiary.
