Prisons in Colombia

INPEC and the overall situation

Colombia's prison system is administered by the Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario (INPEC). It holds around 100,000 inmates (as of 2023/2024) against an official capacity of roughly 81,000 places — an occupancy rate of about 124%. The Corte Constitucional has repeatedly declared the prison system an estado de cosas inconstitucional in T-153/1998, T-388/2013 and T-762/2015.

La Picota (Bogotá)

The Establecimiento Penitenciario y Carcelario de Alta y Mediana Seguridad (EPAMSCAS) La Picota in Bogotá is the principal high-security facility for extradited persons and politically prominent inmates. It comprises several sectors of differing security levels.

La Tramacúa (Valledupar)

EPAMSCAS Valledupar, commonly known as La Tramacúa, has repeatedly been the subject of national and international proceedings — in judgment T-282/2014, the Colombian Corte Constitucional gave the state a one-year deadline to remedy the inhumane conditions (in particular the water supply). On account of heat, water shortages, inadequate medical care and allegations of ill-treatment, it became a symbol of the deficiencies in Colombia's prison system. Conditions in La Tramacúa have also been the subject of submissions by Colombian human rights organisations to UN and inter-American bodies.

Other relevant facilities

Cómbita (Boyacá) is the central high-security facility for former paramilitaries and FARC commanders. La Modelo (Bogotá) has a long history of internal violence and massacres. Itagüí (near Medellín) has traditionally held convicted AGC- and Sinaloa-affiliated inmates.

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