France builds a high-security prison in the vast wilderness of South American jungle. This is the reason
The facility is scheduled to open in 2028 at Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, located in Guyana, France, a French overseas territory on the northern coast of South America, bordering Brazil and Suriname.
“I decided to build the third high security prison in France in Guyana,” Damanen told JDD. “It will put 60 prisoners under an extremely strict prison regime, with one goal: to eliminate the most dangerous profiles involved in drug trafficking.”
Justice Department officials confirmed that 15 of 60 statuses will be reserved for individuals convicted of Islamic extremism.
Darmanin, who built his reputation as a criminal politician during his tenure as Home Secretary, said the decision was part of a broader effort to strike at organized crime at all levels.
“My strategy is simple – there are organized crime on every level,” he said. “In Guyana, drug trafficking begins; in mainland France, heads through the Zhonghe network; all the way to the end users. Colleagues.
Saint-Laurent-Du-Maroni is a famous hotspot with so-called “drug mus” where many of them travel from Brazil and try to fly to Paris with cocaine hidden in their suitcases or ingested luggage. Most drug flows originate in neighboring Suriname.
Earlier this year, Darmanin revealed his plan to isolate the top 100 drug traffickers in France in dedicated high-security facilities to prevent them from continuing to continue illegal operations from prison.
The crime rate in Guyana, France is the highest crime rate for any French sector relative to its population. In 2023, the region recorded 20.6 homicides per 100,000 residents, 14 times the national average.
Saint-Laurent was once the infamous transportation camp in France, a criminal colony operating from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Today, the remains of the cruel institution remain – a historical response to the future role the town will play in the modern French criminal justice system.
