A worker from the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB) denounced a critical sanitary situation at the Melchor Romero Departmental Alcaidía, located near La Plata, due to a massive and persistent rat infestation within the facility. According to the testimony, the presence of rodents is constant and is recorded in work areas and common spaces, which rules out that these are isolated incidents. The alcaidía depends on the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service, an agency under the orbit of the Ministry of Justice of the Province of Buenos Aires, currently headed by Martín Mena. Additionally, and as learned by the Noticias Argentinas agency, the whistleblower warned that the situation poses a health risk, both for the penitentiary staff and for the inmates. Rats are disease transmitters, contaminate food and spaces, and reveal unacceptable hygiene and health conditions for a state institution. According to the statements made, the problem has been known for some time, but so far no effective solutions have been implemented, allowing the plague to continue to spread: “Working in these conditions is dangerous and violates basic rights to health and safety,” stated the worker. In this context, they asked the authorities to intervene urgently and adopt real sanitation and health control measures.
