In the prisons of Bolivia, overcrowding, lack of infrastructure, and corruption are generating situations of violence among inmates. During the first two months of 2025, at least seven prisoners lost their lives in different prisons of the Andean country, in some cases involving complicit police.
According to Franz Laura, former director of the Penitentiary Regime, overcrowding makes it difficult to properly classify prisoners, leading to power conflicts and increasing violence, as well as the consumption of alcohol and drugs in prisons. The prison population, which grew by 11% in 2024, is closely related to the lack of infrastructure, as most prisons do not have sufficient space.
According to Laura, fights among inmates arise from the shortage of space and are also driven by illegal agreements with prison security agents, where prisoners corrupt police officers in exchange for benefits. This has led to situations such as the murder of a prisoner in a maximum-security prison by another inmate who obtained a firearm from a police officer.
The expert emphasizes the need to seek short-term solutions, such as establishing greater internal control with the collaboration of inmates and frequently rotating police officers in correctional facilities to prevent acts of corruption. Currently, existing regulations in Bolivia are insufficient to meet the needs of prisons, so urgent changes are required.
Additionally, conflicts have been recorded between Bolivian and foreign prisoners, with the formation of groups seeking to dominate over others. The presence of foreign inmates in Bolivian prisons is considerable, with Peruvians being the majority, followed by Brazilians, Colombians, and Venezuelans. Brazilians, in particular, are usually incarcerated for drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
Organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have pointed out human rights violations in Bolivian prisons, and the Government has announced a review of security protocols to prevent further tragedies in the penitentiary system.
