[REVISION HISTORY]

Latin America prison reform

Updated 4 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-19 22:03 UTC → 2026-08-26 23:34 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early July 2026, Argentina launched wide-ranging prison reforms, including expanded education, recycling programs, and a new inmate classification system for manufacturing work for the armed forces. Federal authorities also confiscated over 4,000 inmate-owned cell phones and implemented surprise inspections. A week later, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru marked a regional “Day of the Penitentiary Service.” Ceremonies honored correctional staff and held cadet certification conferences. Colombian officials emphasized rehabilitation and human-rights monitoring at facilities like Lurigancho and Valledupar. By mid-July, Argentina began modernizing the Chimbas facility with AI-enabled cameras and scanners to address overcrowding. In Panama, a proposal to replace some in-person visits with video calls sparked debate regarding detainee rights. In Chile, officials held community meetings in Rancagua to address neighborhood impacts ahead of a re-licensing tender. Following a controversy involving inmates livestreaming from San Felipe prison, Argentina’s Governor Alfredo Cornejo urged for the extension of mobile-blocking powers to provincial facilities. ~~In response, Argentina's National Communications Entity (Enacom) committed to amending Resolution 300/2026 to close legal gaps that previously only allowed blocking in federal facilities.~~ On August 13, 2026, this commitment was formalized through Resolution 734/2026. The regulation allows provinces, such as Mendoza, to join an official protocol to disable mobile devices detected within penitentiary establishments. Under this measure, service providers must block the IMEI, the IMSI, and the linked telephone number. To prevent interference with nearby residents or businesses, the regulation specifies that technologies must be strictly adjusted and that inhabilitations require an express request from the National Ministry of Security, which will centralize requests from participating provinces. On August 18, 2026, Córdoba joined the national protocol. The province’s Minister of Justice and Labor, Julián López, implemented the measure to prevent inmates from reusing hardware by swapping components. By late August, the Ministry of Security established the “Program for the Detection and Blocking of Mobile Telephony in Penitentiary Establishments” via Resolution 806/2026.

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