The National Government and the Government of the City of Buenos Aires signed a memorandum of understanding stating that the city authorities will deliver the new federal prison being built in the Buenos Aires locality of Marcos Paz during the first four months of this year, and it will be transferred to the Nation's orbit.
For months, officials have been working to implement actions that would "increase the number of available accommodation spaces in the Federal Penitentiary Service and decompress the police stations and jails of the City."
Federal Penitentiary Center VII of Marcos Paz. Photo: Agencia NA (GCBA)
According to the Argentine News Agency, the Federal Penitentiary Center VII of Marcos Paz will have a capacity for 2,240 inmates and must comply with the technical, security, penitentiary treatment, and habitability standards established in the applicable national and international regulations.
With the delivery of that prison, the Villa Devoto prison will be vacated, thus removing the prison from the port neighborhood.
In addition, it was learned that the agreement contemplates the "possibility of expanding accommodation spaces in the Federal Penitentiary Service by installing modular spaces within the premises of the Federal Penitentiary Complex IV and Unit 19, in Ezeiza, intended for the permanent accommodation of up to 400 detainees."
The agreement, signed by the Minister of Security, Alejandra Monteoliva, and the Minister of Security of the City, Horacio Giménez, on behalf of Head of Government Jorge Macri, allows for the orderly accommodation of persons deprived of liberty, decompress the number of prisoners housed in police stations, and strengthen the operational capacity of the Federal Penitentiary Service, within the framework of current technical and security standards.
This morning, Jorge Macri supervised the progress of the works, which were resumed at the end of 2024 after being stopped for five years.
"The prison is almost ready and we are going to hand it over to the Nation, as we had agreed," said the Head of Government, and added: "This work will allow the transfer of detainees who are currently in Villa Devoto, to advance with the closure of the prison, which is a historical request from the neighbors of the neighborhood."
During his tour, he was accompanied by the Head of Cabinet, Gabriel Sánchez Zinny; the Minister of Security, Horacio Giménez; and the Minister of Justice, Gabino Tapia.
The new complex will have four units with an administration building, one for programs and services for the internal security command of the unit, a health area, videoconference rooms for inmates and professionals, visiting areas, a gym, and an educational sector for work workshops and job training.
There will also be a space for the food ration distributor and a campus determined by the accommodation modules divided into five independent sectors with soccer fields and spaces for gardens.
