A super French prison in the Amazon to isolate drug traffickers
France has announced plans to build a high-security prison in the heart of the Amazon, aimed at isolating the most dangerous drug traffickers from their criminal networks, as part of a broad campaign against organized crime.
French Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin made this announcement during his visit to French Guiana, the French territory located in South America on the border with Brazil and Suriname.
The project involves the construction of a prison that can accommodate 500 inmates in the area of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, which includes a special wing for 60 major drug traffickers and 15 terrorists. A judicial complex will also be built on site, and it is expected to open by 2028, at a cost of up to 400 million euros.
The prison will be built near the former penal colony known as "Devil's Island," which was notorious for the short lifespans of its inmates, and later formed the backdrop for the novel "Papillon" that was turned into a famous film.
In a statement to the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Darmanin confirmed that the aim of the new prison is to "completely cripple the operations of the most dangerous drug traffickers," noting that it will also help alleviate overcrowding in French prisons.
Darmanin, who considers the fight against drug trafficking a top priority, is seeking this summer to isolate the 100 most dangerous drug traffickers in France from their networks. His plan includes transferring prisoners to high-security prisons in Vendin-le-Vieil and Condé-sur-Sarthe within France, along with the new prison in French Guiana.
In his interview with Le Monde, the minister expressed his concern that prisons no longer pose a barrier to traffickers, as they continue to manage their criminal activities from within and threaten judges, journalists, and officials.