SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile will speed up construction of a new maximum security prison in the region that encompasses the capital city of Santiago to help fight organized crime, President Gabriel Boric announced on Thursday.
The new facility will cost an estimated $95.4 million (90 billion Chilean pesos) and house around 500 maximum security inmates as part of a plan to increase the current 600 maximum security spots. Another 200 spots will be added to existing prisons in northern Chile, an area that’s seen higher levels of organized crime.
“In Chile we’re not going to allow what’s happened in other country’s where organized crime has taken over jails with no state control,” Boric said in a press conference after a meeting with the security cabinet. “That’s not going to happen in Chile.”
Boric said there was “a sense of urgency” and that he would send a bill to Congress to accelerate the process and construction of the facility.
The announcement came after two mass shootings in Santiago left nine people dead, including four teenagers, in the past week. Boric announced that suspects had been detained for both cases.
Crime has been a major theme for the leftist president since taking office, dominating much of his agenda. Last year, Boric announced a $1.5 billion spending boost to fight crime after three police officers were killed. Private spending on security has also increased as it is the major concern of voters.
Carolina Toha, Chile’s interior minister, noted that the country is not planning on following the “mega prison” strategy from El Salvador, but aims to achieve European prison standards.
(Reporting by Alexander Villegas; editing by Diane Craft)