Santo Domingo. – Delivery of the first stage of the Correction and Rehabilitation Center (CCR) Las Parras represents a milestone for the prison system of the Dominican Republic, since it marks the beginning of the process that will lead to the definitive closure of the La Victoria prisonthe oldest and most overcrowded prison in the country.
The opening ceremony, held on Saturday in the municipality of San Antonio de Guerrawas headed by the Minister of Housing and Buildings, Carlos Bonillawho highlighted that the opening of the first quadrants of the new facility constitutes an important step for the modernization of prisons throughout the national territory.
“We take a very important step towards transformation of the Dominican penitentiary system“said Bonilla, highlighting that the downtown infrastructure meets the highest standards of security and functionality.
The Las Parras CCR, whose first phase has the capacity to house more than 2,400 inmates, has gradually begun to receive prisoners, which will contribute to significantly reducing the extreme overcrowding that has characterized La Victoria for decades.
The facility’s infrastructure includes perimeter fences, block enclosures, watchtowers, special cells, educational classrooms, trade workshops, sports fields, reflection spaces, churches, and internal audience roomsto facilitate judicial processes without the need for risky transfers.
“The delivery of these spaces is a fact that has a historical connotation, because as we all know begins the decongestion and eventual closure of the La Victoria National Penitentiary“, emphasized Deputy Attorney General Rodolfo Espiñeira.
In addition to reducing the burden of the old correctional facility, the head of the General Directorate of Penitentiary Services, Roberto Santana, He assured that the Las Parras facility will guarantee the rehabilitation and social reintegration of those deprived of liberty.
A prison with history
Built during the tyranny of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo and inaugurated in 1952La Victoria has been for decades a symbol of overpopulation, overcrowding and precariousness in the Dominican prison system.
The prison was designed to house 1,700 prisonersand despite some expansions, it came to host 9,300 inmatesas Roberto Santana explained, which turned it into a center of degradation for inmates.
The head of the General Directorate of Penitentiary Services pointed out that, after 39 years of attempts to replace La Victoria with other facilities, With the opening of Las Parras this long process will be possibleof which “all the Dominican people should feel proud” and “remain vigilant so that it does not happen again in the future.”
Last Wednesday, the transfer of prisoners from La Victoria to the Las Parras CCR began with 300 inmates, the first of the 2,400 that will house the first phase of the new prison facility.
