This article develops in international terms some aspects of criminal policy in the 19th and 20th centuries and its influence on the Colombian penitentiary system, particularly at the Gorgona Island prison and the Araracuara and Oriente criminal justice colonies, where both the opening and closing of each one of these centers are included. Likewise, it covers the relevant legislative survey, geographical location, features, and penitentiary structure in order to identify the problem of criminal justice colonies and the treatment applied on convicts within their individual efficiency framework.