Indefinite INPEC protest over arrests shuts down services at El Barne prison, Boyacá

Guardians of the Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario (INPEC) began an open‑ended protest at the high‑security El Barne prison in Cómbita, Boyacá, after five inmates suspected of running the extortion network “Los Fantasmas” were seized in the Operation Zafiro raid. The strike halted the intake of new inmates transferred from other regions and temporarily barred visitors, lawyers and judicial proceedings.

Union representatives say the prison is operating at 46.4 % overcapacity, holding about 4,100 detainees in a facility designed for roughly 2,800. They have called for intervention by the Procuraduría, the Contraloría and the Defensoría del Pueblo to address staffing, infrastructure and security shortfalls. Authorities allege some staff facilitated cellphone smuggling in exchange for money. In response, the Boyacá governor ordered the installation of mobile‑signal jammers at El Barne and the nearby Cómbita penitentiary to curb prison‑based extortion.