The crisis in the prison system is aggravated. So far from 2025 there were eight violent deaths in different prisons in the country, a figure that almost equals the nine registered in all 2024. The Ombudsman’s Office described the increase in “alarming” and, in a report released yesterday, warned that If overwhelming measures are not taken, violence could climb.
The murders and acts of violence that took place, especially in Chonchocoro (La Paz) and Palmasola (Santa Cruz), the two largest prison enclosures in Bolivia, have turned on the alarms. In response, the Government has intensified the controls, executed operations and has begun to evaluate changes in the penitentiary personnel.
“We have instructed the General Police Commander to prepare a Comprehensive Control and Security Plan for prisons. It has been endowed with greater technological equipment in the main penalties in the country, but the problem lies in human talent. There are centers where the controls are insufficient and we need greater surveillance to prevent these events from happening, ”Minister Eduardo del Castillo said yesterday after knowing the report of the deceased.
The Ombudsman’s Office detailed the relationship of the deaths that occurred this year: on January 2, an inmate died stabbed in the Morros Blancos prison (Tarija), one day later another intern was killed in Chonchocoro, also with a white weapon. That same day, a third deprived of liberty died in Cerprom prison in Montero.
On January 12, a femicide and subsequent suicide left two deaths in Palmasola. This case ignited more alerts because the murdered woman was visiting.
The report continues. On January 26, a inmate was killed with a firearm inside Chonchocoro. Even more serious, according to investigation reports, that revolver was sold by a policeman, who is already in custody in the context of a major investigation on drug trafficking and organized crime.
On February 3, two inmates were found lifeless in a Chonchocoro cell, with sharp wounds. This is a case that is still under investigation.
Given the growing violence, Del Castillo ordered an operation in Chonchocoro with 300 police officers, achieving the seizure of cell phones, loaders, televisions and even video game consoles. He also confirmed that officials are being evaluated and replaced.
The specialist in Penitentiary Security and former director of the Penitentiary Regime, Ramiro Llanos, was overwhelming: “prisons have stopped fulfilling their function. They are overcrowding centers where inmates only expect to leave, without any rehabilitation process. ”
Llanos explained that the police, in charge of penalty security, lacks specialized training and faces constant personnel changes, which facilitates corruption. “The controls fail. The entry of cell phones, weapons and even controlled substances is allowed, ”he warned.
For him, the solution goes through the creation of an Independent Criminal Institute, which guarantees the training and specialization of prison personnel. He also regretted that prisons do not have multidisciplinary teams, capable of addressing the overcrowding problem.
With 9,200 inmates, Palmasola is the most populous jail in the country. After the recent acts of violence, the government announced that it will harden the controls in the access doors and within the pavilions, as part of a permanent security plan.
But, in general, Bolivia’s prison system faces a serious overcrowding problem. According to data from the Ombudsman, in April 2023 there were 25,940 people deprived of liberty, a figure that increased to 30,659 in the same month of 2024. Of this total, 62.5% (19,163) was with preventive detention, while the 37.5% (11,848) had a conviction.
In 2024, overcrowding reached 196%, that is, almost twice the capacity installed in the country’s prisons.
The Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has indicated that this situation is largely due to the excessive use of preventive detention, which has gone from being an exceptional measure to a recurring practice in the Bolivian judicial system. This approach contributes significantly to overcrowding and inhuman conditions in the country’s prisons.
Among the preventive detainees is the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, held since the late 2022.
To know
– More controls
Police began permanent and tougher controls in the country’s prisons to stop the wave of violence.
– Change of personnel
The Ministry of Government has already confirmed the change of personnel in the main prisons of the country, where there was violence with fatal victims.
– Palmasola
It houses 9,200 deprived of liberty and lives an alarming overcrowding, according to the authorities.
