The government will be bringing in portable prison cells as a quick fix for overcrowding in Panama’s prison system. These maximum security armored containers will accommodate one to six prisoners and feature air conditioning, internal bathroom, a sink and a shower. Containers have been used to house prisoners in such places as the United...
There are 10,370 people incarcerated in Panama according to March 2010 Panama Penitentiary System statistics. The Panama Province heads incarcerations with 6,781 detainees held in six prisons with a total capacity for 4,913 prisoners. The province’s prisons are the Cecilia O. de Chiari Feminine Center, the Renacer Rehabilitation Center and the La Chorrera, La Joya,...
There may be a new penitentiary in the Azuero Peninsula’s future. Currently, detainees are held in the overcrowded police stations of the Los Santos and Herrera provinces that make up the peninsula. If a prison is built, La Prensa calculates the prison would need 86 acres in order to provide the 160 square-feet of...
A chef working in a Pedasi hotel was arrested this afternoon for cocaine dealing. Pedasi is a growing vacation destination on the southern tip of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula. The police report indicated that the chef was a resident of El Limon, a small collection of houses just outside of Pedasi, and that he was...
Some of the world’s most notorious island prisons include Alcatraz, Riker’s Island in New York, Chateau D’If in France, Imrali Island Prison in Turkey, and the former Coiba Island penal colony in Panama. With Coiba now closed and transformed into an ecotourism destination, Panama is considering a new island prison. Deputy Marco Gonzalez put...
