The French government announced on Saturday its plan to open a high-security prison by 2028 in the Amazon jungle of French Guiana, South America, aiming to house inmates serving the harshest sentences for drug trafficking as well as radicalised detainees.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin revealed to JDD during a visit to French Guiana, “I have decided to establish France’s third high-security prison in Guiana. With 60 places, an extremely strict prison regime, and one goal: to neutralise the most dangerous profiles of drug trafficking.”
His office confirmed to AFP that “15 places” will also be reserved for radical Islamists.
Located over 6,000 kilometres from Paris, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is a strategic hub for “mules” primarily from Brazil, who daily attempt to board flights to Orly Airport with cocaine from neighbouring Suriname hidden in their bags or stomachs.
This area was also the former entry port for convicts who arrived from mainland France between 1850 and 1938.
“My strategy is simple: strike organised crime at all levels. Here, at the start of the drug route. In mainland France, by neutralising network leaders. And even reaching consumers. This prison will be a stronghold in the war against drug trafficking,” added the minister.
The Justice Secretary, prioritising the fight against drug trafficking, aims for this prison to “keep drug trafficking network leaders away for good,” ensuring “they can no longer have any contact with their criminal channels.”
French Guiana, the most crime-ridden department in France relative to its population, recorded a record year for homicides in 2023, with 20.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the national average of 1.5 per 100,000.
