Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Overcrowded prisons continue to be an issue for the state of Quintana Roo. Last week, another 51 inmates were transferred from the state to other prisons around the country to help ease conditions.
While those transferred were considered high risk offenders, the move was also done to lighten the overcrowding in the Quintana Roo penal system. Rubén Oyarvide, the State Secretary of Public Security, acknowledges Quintana Roo prisons are overcrowded by 42 percent.
He says that while they will continue to transfer prisoners to other prisons around the country, they are also looking to build another facility in Quintana Roo. He says the overcrowding is mostly in the state’s three main prisons which are Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Chetumal.
“It is not a secret, it is known that state prisons are overcrowded,” he said. “In general terms, we have an overpopulation of 42 percent in the three main ones which are Chetumal, Solidaridad and Benito Juárez,” he explained.
“The overcrowding is a problem. We have to start freeing up space while a project to build a new prison materializes, but in the meantime, we have to depressurize,” he said referring to the recent transfer of 51 prisoners.
In recent months, a total of 197 inmates have been transferred from the state to other federal state prisons. Of those, 59 were from Playa del Carmen, 14 from Cancun and 127 from the Chetumal prison.
