Guaynabo Medical Detention Center

Guaynabo Medical Detention Center is an administrative security detention center located in Guaynabo County, Puerto Rico.  With 1,324 prisoners, the prison houses both female and male offenders.  Although the facility currently holds over 1,000 inmates, MDC Guaynabo was designed to hold just 849 prisoners.  The detention center is a 5 story building that houses pretrial and holdover offenders.  The security levels of the inmates vary.  Guaynabo Medical Detention Center was activated in April of 1993, which made it the first Federal Bureau of Prisons facility built and activated outside of the continental United States.  

To help prisoners transition into the lives of law abiding citizens, MDC Guaynabo offers numerous programs and classes to their prisoners.  The Education Department offers the GED Program, English as a Second Language, Adult Continuing Education, and more.  Parenting classes and literacy programs are also available.  Literacy and other academic programs are available at several different levels of instruction, including GED and pre-GED.  Inmates can take Comprehensive Release Preparation classes and obtain useful resources at the Career Resource Center at the facility.  In addition, interns from the University of Puerto Rico provide the inmates with instruction in English, Spanish, physical education, and mathematics.  The Recreation Department at the prison provides leisure activities for the offenders through programs and activities.  Such programs include the Wellness Program and the Arts & Crafts Program. 

Two notable incidents in particular have occurred and MDC Guaynabo.  One incident of which occurred in 2010.  In 2010, after an FBI investigation, it was found that a group of conspirators were distributing Xanax, Percocet, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to prisoners in the facility.  These conspirators were led by Juan Rios-Ortiz, who worked for a company that provided produce to the prison kitchen.  As a group, the conspirators also attempted to provide a cell-phone along with a charger and SIM card to an inmate.  Rios-Ortiz was eventually convicted of conspiracy with the intent to distribute controlled substances and provide contraband to a prisoner from the detention center.  Another notable incident took place on February 26th in 2013.  On this day, Federal BOP Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati was shot and killed.  It is believed Albarati was killed as a result for his investigations in cell phone smuggling at the prison.  The lieutenant was shot when he was leaving the prison and driving home on the De Diego Expressway where several gunmen fired at his vehicle.  There are other possibilities for why the gunmen were after Albrati, however the investigation still continues.  No charges have been filed yet.  In addition to the several notable incidents that occurred at MDC Guaynabo, there are also notable inmates who have served time at the prison.  For example, Jose Figueroa-Agosto currently awaits trial at the facility. Agosto was the leader of the largest drug trafficking industry in the Caribbean.  He was known as the "Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean." 

Visiting Hours at Guaynabo Medical Detention Center:

• Visiting hours rotate at Guaynabo Medical Detention Center based on the housing units at the facilities.
• After 12 weeks, all housing units will go through a new rotation.  This excludes housing units 1A, 1B, 1C, and 4C.
• Visitor processing ends a 75 minutes prior to the conclusion of visiting for that day.
• Prisoners housed in the Special Housing Unit will receive social visits each Tuesday with up to 5 SHU inmates in the visiting room at one time.  These visits are limited to 1 hour.
• A SHU inmate who is considered to be "High Security" will have all social and legal visits on the 4th floor of the facility.  When 4th floor visits occur, visitors who are less than 16 years of age will not be permitted into the secure area of the prison.
• Inmates are allowed to visit other inmates if it is an immediate family member also in the facility.  Inmate to inmate visits will occur on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 12:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
• Inmates who have been placed in the hospital for medical treatment are normally not permitted visitors.  However, visits can occur as long as the visit is authorized by the warden.  Such visits have a 1 hour time limit.
• Offenders who are under strict medical care are restricted from having any visitors for safety and health purposes.
• Prisoners are allowed up to 3 adult visitors at a time in the visiting room.  Small infants who do not take up a seat in the visiting room do not count towards the visitor count.
• Visitors who are bringing infants into the facility are allowed to bring the following items into the facility:
  • 2 diapers
  • 2 jars of unopened baby food
  • 2 clear plastic bottles that are half full
  • 1 baby blanket
• No food items should be brought into the facility

Physical Address:

Guaynabo Medical Detention Center
652 Carretera 28
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00965

Telephone:

(787)-749-4480

Inmate Mailing Address:

Inmate Name, ID Number
Guaynabo Medical Detention Center
P.O. Box 2005
Catano, Puerto Rico 00963