See also: PHOTOS: Faces from La Reforma prison LA REFORMA PRISON, Alajuela – Their reality is confined to a 4x4-meter cell of cement and iron, where only a…

"Presos" ("Inmates"), the third film from Costa Rican director Esteban Ramírez, has won international acclaim, and is now finally set to premiere on its home turf. Ramírez,…

Located in San Rafael de Alajuela, La Reforma prison is the biggest in Costa Rica. It's built to house 2,197 inmates but right now it holds 2,912,…

Cue the prison harmonica and a nostalgic corrido, Narco Paloma is behind bars. The winged drug mule-cum-narco folk hero caught ferrying drugs to La Reforma Penitentiary in Alajuela…

Look closely. Yes that is, indeed, a pigeon with a bag full of marijuana attached to its belly. Members of Costa Rica's Penitentiary Police captured the bird…

Costa Rica’s prison rolls are bursting at the seams, according to a new report from the Ombudsman’s Office. The country’s prison population has grown by 50 percent…

If people get squeamish at the thought of sleeping in hotel beds, image this: Prisoners at La Reforma penitentiary sued for nicer mattresses for their conjugal visits. And…

Justice Minister Cristina Ramírez announced new leadership of Costa Rica's penitentiary police Thursday following a scathing report from the Supreme Court alleging torture in La Reforma prison…