Prisoners peer from their group cell in the late afternoon, to be unlocked in the morning, as another prisoner prepares to enter another group cell to be locked for the night at the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguay a few months ago launched an operation to address some of the many problems plaguing its prison system, including internal gang control, but one problem in particular has proven difficult to deal with: overcrowding.
The South American nation has 18 prisons with a capacity for almost 10,000 inmates, but the current population exceeds 17,600, according to the latest figures provided by authorities which go until the end of 2023.
A country of more than 6 million inhabitants, Paraguay is considered a regional drug trafficking hub.
An Associated Press photographer recently had access to five different prisons — four male facilities and one for women — to see how their inmates live. With the exception of the female detention center, overcrowding was common.
One of the penitentiaries the AP visited was Tacumbú, the largest prison in Paraguay, which authorities raided nine months ago in an effort to regain control from the Rotela clan — a gang that has extended its presence onto Paraguay's streets and into some of its prisons.
The police operation ended with a dozen people dead, several injured and the relocation of 700 inmates to other lockups.
Inside the prison, cells designed to hold five inmates hold more than 15. Prisoners often sleep on thin mattresses on the floor and hang towels in an attempt at privacy. They look for ways to spend their time.
The facilities the AP visited were minimum-security prisons, so inmates interact more freely. But for those who break the rules, there are cells in an isolated area where they are held without visitors.
Inside “El Buen Pastor,” or Good Shepherd, female prison, things look cleaner and less crowded than in the men's facilities.
Any given day, in prisons like Tacumbú, there are stretching sessions in open areas or religious ceremonies. Some inmates play soccer while others prefer bingo. Some try to earn money and shine the guards shoes for 30 cents.
There are no dining areas, so inmates eat in their cells or in hallways. On cold days, prisoners are allowed to make a fire in the patios to keep warm.
Atiliano Cuyer, 64, was detained for domestic violence and says he's been waiting for 10 months for a trial inside the Coronel Oviedo regional penitentiary.
“Justice in Paraguay doesn't work if you don't have money,” he adds.
An inmate uses a phone as another gives the number to dial at a pay-by-the-minute phone booth set up and run by prisoners at the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. Most inmates' calls get paid for by their families when they come to visit in person. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner rests in an external corridor of the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners line up for a jail-provided meal known as "vori-vori" at the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The soup, made of chicken or beef, vegetables, and corn balls stuffed with cheese, is considered the food of the poorest inmates, and those who can afford it prefer to buy other food. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prison security guard shows the knife he carries as he patrols outside the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner cooks a vegetable, cheese and bean stew to serve at the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners smoke crack inside the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 8, 2024. Drugs are not allowed but some manage to smuggle them into the jail. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners eat a jail-provided soup known as "vori vori" at the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 8, 2024. The soup, made of chicken or beef, vegetables, and corn balls stuffed with cheese, is considered the food of the poorest inmates, and those who can afford to buy other food don't eat it. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A urinal is located along an observation walkway for security guards at the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Inmates use a pay-by-the-minute phone booth set up and run by prisoners at the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. Most inmates' calls get paid for by their families when they come to visit in person. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoner Antolin Rojas, 32, shines the shoes of a prison guard, for 2000 Guaranies, or about 30 cents, at the Regional Penitentiary in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners keep warm with blankets in the courtyard of the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Monday, July 9, 2024. Prisoners are allowed to be outside of their cellblocks until 4pm. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner divides up jail-provided soup known as "vori vori" at the Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The soup, made of chicken or beef, vegetables, and corn balls stuffed with cheese, is considered the food of the poorest inmates, and those who can afford it prefer to buy other food. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners share beds at the Regional Penitentiary in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner hangs clothes to dry outside at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners reach out from their cell for bread at lunchtime at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners eat dinner in their cell at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner gives a free stretching session to a volunteer during events on visiting day at the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners warm themselves by a fire inside their pavilion at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners sit in their cell block at the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner uses pebbles to mark his bingo card in the prison yard of the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Prisoners pay per bingo card and the winner takes all. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners play soccer at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Prisoners talk to other prisoners through the gaps of a cell where they serve out punishment for trying to start a riot at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Rocio Gonzalez, sentenced to 16 years for murder, eats lunch inside the pavilion reserved for transgender inmates at the Regional Penitentiary in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Magali Vargas, 29, strikes a pose while cleaning the floor of the pavilion reserved for transgender inmates at the Regional Penitentiary in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A prisoner, right, playfully hugs a female prison guard at the women's pavilion of the Regional Penitentiary in Villarica, Paraguay, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Inmates pray during an evangelical service at the Buen Pastor women's prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Security guards work at a checkpoint inside the Buen Pastor women's prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Liz Cardozo, 40, who said she has been in jail for seven months with no trial, smiles inside the Buen Pastor women's prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Cardozo said she was arrested for fighting with a neighbor. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
The Regional Penitentiary is surrounded by fields in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
