The mega-prison is modelled on El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT facility as Costa Rica seeks to strengthen its response to organised crime. (AFP pic)COSTA RICA: Costa Rica opened a high-security jail on Wednesday inspired by a mega-prison in El Salvador that has become a symbol of the country's war on gangs, widely criticized by human rights groups.

Costa Rican president Laura Fernandez, who took office in May, campaigned on a promise to crack down on the wave of crime sweeping what was once Central America's safest country.

In a vast corridor with rows of cells, the right-wing leader and ally of US president Donald Trump vowed to "take a hard line" on crime, saying "those who break the law must pay the price."