The Buenos Aires minister Jorge Macri stated that the main responsibility for the prison situation in the city of Buenos Aires lies with the National State, through the Ministry of Security and the Federal Penitentiary Service. He also highlighted the City’s willingness to collaborate in solving the inherited problem from previous administrations since he took office.
In response to Macri's statements, the Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich, expressed that the federal government would not accept direct or indirect coercions, emphasizing that its primary competence is to combat federal crimes. Bullrich pointed out that the City’s judiciary exceeds its competencies by issuing Habeas Corpus on federal spaces, and urged that, in case of detecting rights violations in the City Police's facilities, detainees should be transferred to the City’s detention system.
The Buenos Aires Justice Minister, Gabino Tapia, responded to Bullrich's assertions through a letter requested by Jorge Macri, emphasizing that the City would need an agreement with the National State, which includes the transfer of resources and the creation of a local Penitentiary Service, to take responsibility for housing detainees from federal justice.
Tapia described the conceptions about the legal obligations of each government posed by Bullrich as erroneous and refuted her claim that the National State only has the obligation to receive between 60 and 70 detainees per week in the Federal Penitentiary System. The Buenos Aires Justice Minister clarified that the legal obligation of the Federal Penitentiary Service is to receive all detainees located in police stations and the City’s detention facilities.
