El Encuentro (prison)
Prison in Ecuador
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Encuentro (Spanish for "The Encounter") is a maximum security prison in Santa Elena, Ecuador. The prison opened on 11 November 2025 when it accepted a transfer of 300 prisoners from the La Roca prison.
- Santa Elena, Ecuador
 Interactive map of El Encuentro | |
| Location |
|
|---|---|
| Status | Operational/under construction |
| Security class | Maximum security prison |
| Capacity | 800 |
| Population | 300 (11 November 2025) |
| Opened | 11 November 2025 |
| Notable prisoners | |
| Jorge Glas | |
History
In January 2024, Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa announced the construction of two prisons to incarcerate 12,000 inmates. Noboa's announcement came during a conflict against criminal gangs in the country. He stated that both prisons would be modeled on the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) built in El Salvador in 2023 to address a similar gang crackdown.[1]
Construction on the prison in Santa Elena, known as "El Encuentro", began on 21 June 2024.[2] On 11 November 2025, 300 prisoners were transferred from the La Roca prison to El Encuentro. Among the transferred prisoners was Jorge Glas, a former Vice President of Ecuador who is serving 21 years imprisonment for embezzlement and bribery.[3]
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