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DE RUEHLP #1322/01 1341432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141432Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3561
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6766
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RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4594
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5104
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9691
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
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RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS LA PAZ 001322 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL
SUBJECT: SAN PEDRO- PRISON FACILITY OR URBAN SLUM? 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  On May 4, Emboffs visited La Paz's San Pedro prison with 
Alvaro Guzman, head of the National Public Defender's Office. 
 After the conclusion of the formal visit, Guzman took 
Emboffs on a tour of San Pedro's "neighborhoods," the prison 
sections corresponding to inmates' socio-economic levels. 
Although living conditions are far from ideal in the eyes of 
American tourists, in many ways San Pedro resembles an urban 
slum more than a prison facility.  In contrast to most prison 
systems around the world, in San Pedro, the family structure 
can remain intact as children up to age 12 are permitted to 
live with their fathers inside the prison.  San Pedro's 
rampant corruption allows the prison to operate as a city 
within a city.  End summary. 
 
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Justice Delayed 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  On May 4, Emboffs visited La Paz's San Pedro prison with 
Alvaro Guzman, head of the National Public Defender's Office. 
 The trip was the first of two annual prison visits where 
inmates have the opportunity to issue formal complaints with 
local judges and prosecutors.  In a surprisingly eloquent 
address, the president of San Pedro's electoral committee 
(the inmates' representative) went on record to protest a 
lack of medical care, work and educational opportunities, and 
insufficient food.  (Note: According to the Electoral 
Committee President, there is only one doctor and one nurse 
for the 1503 inmates, and prisoners are only served two meals 
a day, forcing them to supplement their diet with their own 
money.  End note.)  The most troubling complaint was from an 
inmate that had resided in San Pedro for over four years 
without going to trial.  The inmate was accused of armed 
robbery in a rural area, and the prosecutor's office argued 
that lack of transportation and difficulty traveling to the 
remote town had delayed the trial.  According to a National 
Police report distributed at the prison visit, only 26 
percent of San Pedro residents are serving a sentence, while 
the remainder are awaiting trial. 
 
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The Apparent City of San Pedro 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  After the conclusion of the formal prison visit, Guzman 
took Emboffs on a tour of San Pedro's "neighborhoods,"  the 
prison sections corresponding to inmates' socio-economic 
levels.  Inmates are required to buy their own cells in San 
Pedro.  The affluent prisoners live in San Pedro's more 
upscale neighborhoods, and often have their own kitchenette, 
cable television, or private bathroom.  The less fortunate 
inmates or those with no family on the outside to send them 
money live in the poor, more violent sections of San Pedro. 
Poor inmates often cram several people into a cell, or are 
forced to sleep in hallways, chapels or classrooms, or brave 
the chilly La Paz nights in courtyards.  In addition, San 
Pedro is considered 500 percent overcrowded.  To accommodate 
the overcrowding, many prison cells have been split in two, 
or inmates add on to the prison by building their own cells. 
 
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Prison or Slum? 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  Although living conditions are far from ideal in the eyes 
of American tourists, in many ways San Pedro resembles an 
urban slum more than a prison facility.  During the day, 
inmates walk freely through the prison, play soccer in one of 
the courtyards that doubles as an athletic field, and eat or 
shop at one of the inmate-owned restaurants or stores. 
Inmates must seek employment in prison to cover their living 
expenses, including housing, supplemental food, medication, 
and oftentimes, illicit drugs.  There are two schools within 
San Pedro, an institute of higher-learning which offers 
computer, accounting, and business courses; and a trade 
school where prisoners are trained to be cobblers, tailors, 
electricians, and pastry chefs.  Less than 50 percent of 
prisoners attend the schools.  The prisoners argue that the 
low level of participation is due to the dilapidated state of 
the schools' infrastructure; that teachers often cannot enter 
the prison during normal class times; and that despite a 
rehabilitation law that states the hours a prisoner spends 
studying should be equivalent to a prisoners' working hours, 
prison authorities recognize only work hours. 
 
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But Families Remain Intact... 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  In contrast to most prison systems around the world, in 
San Pedro, the family structure can remain intact.  Children 
up to age 12 are permitted to live with their fathers inside 
the prison, and many mothers also choose to reside in San 
Pedro.  Currently, 294 children reside in San Pedro.  Younger 
children attend day care inside the prison, while the older 
children leave San Pedro during the day for school.  For the 
56 percent of Bolivian prison inmates that classify 
themselves as poor, San Pedro's relative freedom and security 
may be equivalent to or more attractive than the shantytowns 
where they originate.  In this regard, San Pedro represents a 
relatively humane incarceration option for most of the 
prisoners who dwell there, despite its obvious failings. 
 
------------------------------------- 
A Funny Kind of "Free Market Economy" 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  San Pedro's rampant corruption allows the prison to 
operate as a city with a city.  Inmates are reliably reported 
to bribe guards and prison officials to allow them luxuries 
such as unlimited visitors, daytime releases, and permission 
to conceal drugs and alcohol in the prison.  Approximately 70 
to 80 percent of San Pedro inmates are accused of 
drug-related offenses.  Drug trafficking, and even 
production, continues inside the prison.  A 2006 study by the 
Latinamerican Center of Scientific Investigation (CELIN) 
reveals that drug use inside Bolivian prisons is one to ten 
times higher than in the urban population, and prison guards 
are complicit in the trafficking of narcotics from prison. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7.  San Pedro is a place of extremes-- corruption, violence, 
and poverty, yet all of the necessities provided by an urban 
slum.  In Bolivia's penal system, all are not equal.  Wealthy 
inmates enjoy better living conditions and access to justice, 
but for the poor, San Pedro is not always significantly 
different from their pre-prison lifestyle.  End comment. 
GOLDBERG