Tacumbú is one of the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

s of

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

and famous for the

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

also referred to as "Tacumbú". The famous Tacumbú hill is also located in this neighbourhood. The majority of the streets of the city of Asunción and surrounding areas were cobbled with the rocks extracted from this hill. It is a working-class neighbourhood, located at only five minutes' drive from Asuncion's downtown.

Tacumbú Prison

When it first opened in 1956, Tacumbú prison was designed to hold just 800 prisoners, however its capacity was soon increased to hold 1,500 inmates. Nevertheless by 2020 it was home to 4231 inmates, many sleeping in an outside area on the ground. In an interview with a reporter from

InSight Crime InSight Crime is a non-profit think tank and media organization specializing in organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization has offices in Washington, D.C., and Medellín, Colombia. InSight Crime receives funding from the ...

, Jorge Fernández, prison director in 2019, pointed out that only 40 to 43 guards are in charge of around 4,000 prisoners, while at least 100 would be required in order to keep the situation under control. In conclusion, the number of guards on duty is not sufficient to stop the circulation of marijuana, cocaine, crack or weapons within Tacumbú. Fernández also stated that only about 25% of the inmates have been convicted, while 75% are still awaiting their trial. Since Paraguay allows visits to prisons on four days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays), as many as 7,000 visitors from the outside may be admitted simultaneously. Under these circumstances, it does not seem surprising, that Tacumbú has a high murder rate. Gang violence include bloody clashes between the Rotela Clan and

Primeiro Comando da Capital The Primeiro Comando da Capital ("Capital's First Command", , PCC) is a Brazilian organized crime syndicate. According to a 2023 ''The Economist'' report, the PCC is Latin America's biggest drug gang, with a membership of 40,000 lifetime members ...

were responsible for at least 12 confirmed victims during a massacre in 2019. The British journalist Raphael Rowe visited the prison for the first episode of the fourth season of the documentary series ''

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons ''Inside the World's Toughest Prisons'' is a television documentary series produced by London-based Emporium Productions and available on Netflix. The documentary shows life in various prisons around the world, mostly from the prisoner perspectiv ...

''.

References

* Neighbourhoods of Asunción Prisons in Paraguay Primeiro Comando da Capital {{Paraguay-geo-stub