“As Panama reels from outrage at legal loopholes that help the world's wealthy hide their cash, inmates at the capital's La Joya prison are paying a heavy price for flaws elsewhere in the Central American nation's justice system. Housed in makeshift cells because of heavy overcrowding, living in grimy conditions and with limited medical attention, many prisoners languish for years without being sentenced. A 2014 report by Open Society Foundations found Panama had the world's highest pre-trial detention rate as a percentage of the country's wider population. “There is no limit to pre-trial detention” in practice, said Juan Carlos Arauz, a Panamanian lawyer and vice president of the National College of Lawyers. He said more than 60 percent of the prison population has not been sentenced. Prisons have sometimes "life-threatening" conditions, according to a 2014 report by the U.S. State Department, which cited deadly prison fights and too few guards”. – Elida Moreno, Alexandra Alper and Enrique Pretel via Reuters



Inmates push food supplies inside La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. Inmates of La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City are housed in makeshift cells amid heavy overcrowding, living in grimy conditions and with limited medical attention. Many prisoners in the Central American nation languish for years without being sentenced. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate (L) and a dog are seen behind bars inside La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates chat at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Carlos Fuentes poses for a photograph with his dog know as Nieves at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 12, 2015. Fuentes is still waiting for his sentence after two years in prison. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





A cross is painted on a wall inside La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates Chant religious song at the Pavilion No.2 in La Joya Prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 5, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates listen to another prisoner, a lay preacher, outside the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City November 13, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Alvis Javier (L), poses for a photograph as another prisoner looks from his bunk inside the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. Javier is still waiting for his sentence after six years in prison. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate reads the Bible as he stands inside his cell at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates play basketball at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates work out at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 13, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Clothes hang on the fence at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 5, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate washes himself in a courtyard in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Robert Maximiliam, a Polish-Canadian, stands at his allotment at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 5, 2016. Maximiliam said: “I'm a healer. I use plants as a medicine to helps other. I'm here by mistake they accuse me of drug trafficking, but I'm innocent, someone put drugs in my bag at the airport”. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates walk back to La Joya prison after spending time outside the prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Ubaldo Marcus, 36, shows his secondary school certificates inside his cell at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. Marcus was sentenced for drug trafficing. He moved to the transgender gallery after a dispute about money in his previous gallery. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





A handmade cooking stove is pictured at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates spend time at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 3, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate stands in one of the shops at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates play a board game at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Robert Maximiliam, a Polish-Canadian, holds his rescue mockingbird outside his cell at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 5, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate looks at his toilet in his cell at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 13, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Miguel Anguel Quiros poses for a photograph with his cat at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 12, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





A Dutch inmate Petrus sits in his provisional cell at the Pavilion No.6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 13, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Angel Hurtado, 23, (C), laughs as he spends time with with his cell mates at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 3, 2016. Hurtado said: “I regret my mistakes. I'm here because of a robbery and this is not a nice place”. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Magazine pages are seen on the ceiling of a cell at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates spend time inside their cell at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Alvis Javier sleeps in his cell inside the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 12, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates are seen at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 3, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate stands in a provisional cell at the Pavilion No. 6 assigned to foreigners at La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama November 13, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmates line up for food provided by the prison in Pavilion No.2 in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





Inmate Miguel Lopez, who is HIV positive, cooks in the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 27, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





A Bible is seen at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)





An inmate couple kiss and joke at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama January 29, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)