Deep in the Amazon jungle, France plans to open a $450 million high-security prison to isolate drug lords and radical Islamists—turning a notorious former penal colony into a fortress for modern criminals. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin on Sunday announced the plan to build the high-security prison in the overseas territory of French Guiana, to open as early as 2028, per the BBC. The facility will sit deep in the Amazon near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the site of the infamous Devil's Island penal colony, where 70,000 convicts from mainland France were sent between 1852 and 1954. The site inspired 1973's Papillon, starring Steve McQueen, per CNN.
Designed for about 500 inmates, the prison will include a wing reserved for the most dangerous prisoners. Darmanin said the prison will enforce a strict protocol intended to disrupt contact between powerful criminal figures and their networks, especially drug lords "at the beginning of the drug trail." The remote location was chosen in part to prevent inmates from communicating with outside networks. The announcement follows a wave of violence targeting prisons and staff in France, incidents the government links to its crackdown on organized crime.
French Guiana serves as a "strategic crossroads" for drug trafficking, particularly from Brazil and Suriname, and the new prison is part of broader efforts to control organized crime. Gangs have pushed the territory's homicide rate to 18.4 per 100,000 people, compared to 1.2 per 100,000 in mainland France, per CNN. Recent government action also includes tough new laws, a dedicated prosecutors' branch for organized crime, expanded investigative powers, and special protected status for informers. As French authorities face ongoing challenges such as widespread smuggling of mobile phones into prisons, stricter control over visitation and communication for high-risk prisoners is planned. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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