There are 43 prisons in Bolivia which incarcerated 32,677 people as of December 2025[update].[1][2]
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The prisons are managed by the Penitentiary Regime Directorate (Spanish: Dirección de Régimen Penintenciario). There are 17 prisons in departmental capital cities (including their metropolitan regions) and 36 provincial prisons. The Defensor del Pueblo consider pre-trial detainees as people deprived of their right to liberty.[3]
Urban prisons include San Pedro Prison and Chonchocoro Prison in La Paz, and San Sebastian Prison in Cochabamba and Palmasola Prison in Santa Cruz.
| Prison | City | Department | Date founded[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Pedro Prison | La Paz | La Paz | 1895 |
| Chonchocoro Prison | La Paz | La Paz | 1992 |
| Miraflores Women's Prison | La Paz | La Paz | 1997 |
| Obrajes Women's Prison | La Paz | La Paz | 1957 |
| Qalauma Juvenile Center | Viacha | La Paz | 2011 |
| San Sebastian Prison | Cochabamba | Cochabamba | 1935 |
| San Antonio Prison | Cochabamba | Cochabamba | 1988 |
| El Abra | Cochabamba | Cochabamba | 1999 |
| San Pablo Prison (Quillacollo) | Quillacollo | Cochabamba | |
| San Pedro Prison (Sacaba) | Sacaba | Cochabamba | |
| Palmasola Prison | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | Santa Cruz | 1989 |
| Villa Busch prison | Cobija | Pando | 2002 |
| Mocoví Prison | Trinidad | Beni | 1994 |
| Morros Blancos Prison | Tarija | Tarija | 1990 |
| San Roque | Sucre | Chuquisaca | 1900 |
| Cantumarca | Potosí | Potosí | 2001 |
| San Pedro Prison (Oruro) | Oruro | Oruro | 1940 |
Population and overcrowding
editThe prison population is growing rapidly: reaching a recent peak of 33,058 in June 2025, with prisons 105% over their planned capacity.[1] The total was previously around 8,700 people as of 2010; and 16,613 people as of March 2017[update].[5] Approximately 55.9% of prisoners have yet to receive their sentences, and are awaiting trial in preventative detention.[1]
Overcrowding is at a serious level, with the total prison population at over twice the capacity of the prisons.[3] Palmasola prison is at three times its capacity of 2,762 inmates.[1] Buena Vista, San Pedro of Oruro, and Valle Grande all have overcrowding of more than three times their capacity, as do the smaller prisons of Camargo and Guayaramerín.[1]
An investigative survey by the Defensor del Pueblo of 20 rural prisons found that they lack the basic infrastructure necessary to function humanely.[3] Due to the overcrowding of prisons in Bolivia and as part of a program that aims to spread literacy, inmates have now access to a small library where they can read books to reduce their jail time.[6]
Prisoners' rights
editBolivian prisons are overcrowded, dilapidated, and lawless, and food supplies and medical care are almost invariably insufficient. Generally, prison officials only control the “outer security perimeter” of these institutions, while the interior is under the control of prisoners themselves, with inmates directing gang activity from behind bars. There is ample violence in Bolivian prisons involving both prisoners and prison officials, and corruption on the part of wardens and guards is widespread. Well-off inmates can arrange for improved living conditions, more liberal visiting rules, shorter prison terms, and transfer to better prisons. Some prisoners have been known to suffer from diseases such as tuberculosis. Prisoners are routinely able to obtain drugs and alcohol, and in some cases children are used as drug couriers. Juvenile offenders are often imprisoned alongside adults, and in at least one prison men and women are confined together as well. Under Bolivian law, spouses as well as children up to age six are permitted to live with a parent in prison, but in practice children up to 12 years old do so. Prisoners have the right to complain about abuses, but they rarely dare to do so for fear of retaliation.[7]
The Defensor del Pueblo reported there were 17 violent deaths in Bolivian prisons in the first seven month of 2026, exceeding the total number in 2025.[2]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 Flores, Rosio (2026-05-31). "Cárceles al límite: 10 penales concentran mayores índices de hacinamiento". La Razón. La Paz. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
- 1 2 "Defensoría reporta 17 muertes en cárceles en siete meses de 2026, cifra superior al total registrado en 2025". Agencia de Noticias Fides. 2026-08-10. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
- 1 2 3 "Cerca del 75% de los internos de las cárceles no tiene sentiencia". La Razón. La Paz. 20 September 2010. pp. A4-6.
- ↑ "16 cárceles de 19 que hay en el país soportan el hacinamiento". Página Siete. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
- ↑ "Justicia informa que presos en cárceles suman 16.613, la cantidad más elevada hasta la fecha". Agencia de Noticias Fides. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
- ↑ Machicao, Monica (2022-05-03). "Pages for pardons? In Bolivia, inmates can cut jail time by reading". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
- ↑ "2010 Human Rights Report: Bolivia".
External links
edit- Hacinómetro (Overcrowding-meter), interactive map of Bolivia's prison population
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