El Encuentro (prison)

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El Encuentro
Location Santa Elena, Ecuador
StatusOperational/under construction
Security class Maximum security prison
Capacity800
Population300(as of 11 November 2025)
Opened11 November 2025;57 days ago (2025-11-11)
Notable prisoners
Jorge Glas

El Encuentro (Spanish for "The Encounter") is a maximum security prison in Santa Elena, Ecuador. The prison opened on 11 November 2025 when it accepted a transfer of 300 prisoners from the La Roca prison.

Contents

History

In January 2024, Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa announced the construction of two prisons to incarcerate 12,000 inmates. Noboa's announcement came during a conflict against criminal gangs in the country. He stated that both prisons would be modeled on the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) built in El Salvador in 2023 to address a similar gang crackdown. [1]

Construction on the prison in Santa Elena, known as "El Encuentro", began on 21 June 2024. [2] On 11 November 2025, 300 prisoners were transferred from the La Roca prison to El Encuentro. Among the transferred prisoners was Jorge Glas, a former Vice President of Ecuador who is serving 21 years imprisonment for embezzlement and bribery. [3]

Facility

El Encuentro covers a land area of 37 hectares (91 acres). [4] El Encuentro has six guard towers and 9-meter-tall (30 ft) walls. The prison has a capacity of 800 inmates. Those incarcerated at El Encuentro are considered to be highly dangerous and escape risks. [2]

References

  1. ↑ "Ecuador to Build Mega-Jails Inspired by El Salvador's Hardline Leader" . The Daily Telegraph . 4 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Construction of the Encuentro Maximum-Security Prison in Santa Elena Begins". Ecuador Times. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Jorge Glas Llegó a la Cárcel del Encuentro con una Pena Unificada de Ocho Años de Prisión, Una Sentencia de Trece Años por Peculado y en la Mira de la Fiscalía por el caso Magnicidio FV" [Jorge Glas Arrived at the El Encuentro Prison with a Combined Sentence of Eight Years in Prison, a Thirteen-Year Sentence for Embezzlement, and Under Investigation by the Prosecutor's Office for the FV Magnicide Case]. El Universo (in Spanish). 11 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Martinez, Juan (5 October 2024). "Ecuador's High-Tech Prison Plan: Echoes of El Salvador's Approach". The Rio Times . Retrieved 12 November 2025.

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