Bolivia prison system faces human rights crisis and overcrowding

The Defensoría del Pueblo de Bolivia has issued an alert regarding a structural crisis within the country’s prison system, citing severe human rights violations. According to the 2025 Annual Report of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, the prison population has reached 33,058 people, nearly doubling the 17,305 inmates recorded in 2020.

Key issues identified include critical overcrowding that forces inmates to sleep in hallways, a collapse of sanitary services—including sewage and water shortages—and a lack of sufficient police and multidisciplinary personnel. The report also highlights systematic delays in paying ‘prediarios,’ the daily state allowance for inmates.

Furthermore, more than 50% of the incarcerated population lacks a final conviction, leading the Defensoría to state that the system is “operating as a human deposit, systematically violating the presumption of innocence.” The report also noted that approximately 190 children are living in prisons with their mothers without access to specialized nutrition or allowances.