Panama to Build Maximum-Security Prison for Gang Leaders

Panama will build a maximum-security prison to isolate gang leaders, President José Raúl Mulino announced on Wednesday, as the country moves to tighten its response to organized crime.

Mulino said the facility would prevent inmates from directing criminal operations from inside prisons, drawing comparisons with the anti-gang strategy adopted by Nayib Bukele.

The announcement comes amid rising violence in Panama, including the killing of a 10-year-old girl in a targeted attack and the escape of nearly 200 prisoners last month, most of whom were later recaptured.

"We will build a maximum-security prison and fully isolate gang leaders," Mulino told parliament, arguing that overcrowded prisons were preferable to allowing gangs to continue extortion, killings, robberies and drug trafficking.

Several Latin American nations, including Ecuador and Costa Rica, are also developing high-security prisons modeled on El Salvador's crackdown on criminal organizations, which has led to the detention of more than 92,000 people since 2022.