President José Raúl Mulino inaugurated the new Women's Rehabilitation Center La Esmeralda, known as CEFERE, located in Las Garzas, Panama Province. It is a prison designed exclusively for women deprived of liberty. The construction took 18 months and had an investment of 22.4 million dollars. The project was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Government, within the official plans to reorganize the female penitentiary system. The new center was designed for a population of 520 inmates and concentrates in a single space areas for training, medical care, and family visits. It also has recreation areas and spaces for coexistence with their children, something that did not exist integrally in the previous prison.
According to the Government, the facility complies with United Nations norms and international human rights standards, with the intention of focusing on resocialization and social reintegration. With the start of operations at La Esmeralda, the current CEFERE Cecilia Orillac de Chiari will cease to operate as a regular prison. The place will be enabled as a Transition Center for women in a pre-liberty stage.
Within the complex, there are educational workshops, a school, a clinic, an auditorium, and sports areas.
