Peru has transferred two state-owned plots near Huacho for a project to build two prisons, the government says, as it seeks to expand a penitentiary system holding far more people than its official capacity.
President Keiko Fujimori oversaw the handover at the existing Ancón I prison on 4 November. The Justice and Human Rights Ministry is to take responsibility for the land, which the housing ministry says covers a combined 2,611.61 hectares.
The housing ministry gave a more detailed account of how the land is intended to be used. A 2,161.68-hectare plot west of the La Capullana estate, near kilometre 131 of the Pan-American Highway North, is earmarked for specialist prison buildings. A second, 449.93-hectare plot east of the highway, between kilometres 127 and 133, is intended for road access and supporting services.
At the ceremony, the housing and justice ministers symbolically handed over resolutions that the government says formalise the transfer from the national state-assets authority. The handover is an early step towards the proposed facilities, not the opening of new prisons.
Fujimori asked Justice Minister Ernesto Álvarez to pursue construction quickly and securely and expressed the hope that the prisons could be inaugurated within months. The announcement did not give a detailed construction timetable, a budget, a contractor or the number of people the facilities would hold. The president’s expectation is not a confirmed completion date.
Capacity and rehabilitation
The announcement comes against a backdrop of severe overcrowding. Figures for 31 July put Peru’s prison population at 106,856, including people held before trial, against an official system capacity of 41,764. The population figure comes from the national prison administration. The same July snapshot put the proportion of people held on remand at 37.8 per cent.
Those figures describe the national system at a particular point in time, not conditions at the proposed Huacho sites. The number of places the new facilities might eventually add has not been specified in the transfer announcement.
Fujimori also visited workshops at Ancón I and said the planned prisons should include facilities where lower-risk prisoners can learn trades. She described the workshops as part of the government’s approach to work and rehabilitation in custody. The government has not set out in the announcement how many places the workshops would offer or how they would operate.
The value of expanding prison capacity has been contested. In June 2025, after visiting Peru, experts from the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture expressed concern about overcrowding and extensive use of pre-trial detention. They argued that building more or larger prisons was not, by itself, a solution to overcrowding or public security. Their comments predated the Huacho announcement and were not a response to these specific plans.
Security measures at Ancón
During the same visit, Fujimori inspected a new access-control module at Ancón I. The presidency said the equipment includes a metal detector, a millimetre-wave body scanner and an X-ray machine for checking packages entering the prison. The government says the measures are intended to prevent prohibited items from being brought inside.
Ancón I is one of five prisons covered by a separate 60-day extension of a state of emergency beginning on 5 November. Under the decree, police maintain internal order with support from the armed forces, including protection of prison perimeters, while the national penitentiary institute retains administration and custody.
The decree provides for restrictions or suspension of certain rights affecting people entering the prisons or passing within 200 metres of their outer boundaries. It also says measures affecting prisoners must follow prison law and must not impair the essential content of their rights to life, personal integrity, health, legal defence and due process.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
