Bullrich accused the penitentiary ombudsman of obstructing the transfer of prisoners from Devoto and demanded that he appear before the Senate.

Senator Bullrich targeted the penitentiary procurator, Ariel Cejas Meliare Senator Patricia Bullrich submitted a resolution project to demand explanations from Ariel Cejas Meliare, acting deputy penitentiary procurator of the National Penitentiary Procuratorate (PPN), regarding the agency's actions in response to the transfer of detainees from Devoto to the new federal complex in Marcos Paz. The initiative attributes to him a conduct that, according to the legislator, obstructs the emptying and closure of the Buenos Aires prison. The project, entered through the Senate's Records Office on Wednesday, October 14, contains nine requests for information about the Procuratorate's actions, the criteria for assigning beds, housing conditions, and security controls. Bullrich requested that the official deliver a "detailed, documented, and written" report within 15 business days following a potential approval of the initiative. For now, it is a parliamentary submission. For the request to become formal, it must receive the approval of the Chamber. The senator seeks to have Cejas Meliare answer, among other points, for the PPN's judicial interventions during the reorganization of the prison population. Transfer of prisoners from Devoto prison to Marcos Paz The central criticism appears in the third point of the project. Bullrich demands that he explain the "flagrant institutional contradiction" between the historical demands for better living conditions and the judicial opposition to the prison's closure. "Explain the flagrant institutional contradiction of demanding for years the improvement of living conditions, only to then oppose judicially the definitive closure and imminent transfer of the inmates of the Federal Penitentiary Complex of CABA (Devoto Prison)," the text states. The initiative describes the prison, inaugurated in 1927, as a "manifestly obsolete" facility. It also questions the working tables promoted by the Procuratorate, which — according to the senator's interpretation — delay the relocation of inmates and interfere with the agreement signed between the Nation and the City of Buenos Aires to proceed with the closure. Audiovisual record of the first two days of the transfer operation from Villa Devoto to Carlos Paz. Bullrich's offensive came while the controversy had already registered judicial decisions at two levels. On Thursday, October 15, Chamber V of the National Criminal and Correctional Appeals Court upheld the rejection of the collective and corrective habeas corpus that the PPN had filed regarding the transfer of inmates to Marcos Paz. The ruling was signed by appellate judges Rodolfo Pociello Argerich and Hernán Martín López. The judges maintained the first-instance criterion, although they ordered clarifications regarding the communication of transfers to the defense attorneys and courts, as well as the access of penitentiary inspectors to the facilities. The Procuratorate's filing covered 326 detainees. The agency criticized that some transfers were carried out without informing the destinations in advance to the defense attorneys and the courts involved. It also warned about the impact on those studying at the Devoto University Center, within the UBA XXII program, and on inmates with temporary releases. Judge Santiago Bignone, in charge of National Criminal and Correctional Court No. 60, rejected the collective action, in accordance with the opinion of prosecutor Pablo Recchini. He held that neither a current collective harm nor a certain and imminent risk of illegitimate worsening of detention conditions had been proven. He added that claims regarding individual rights had to be addressed by the competent judges in each case. The Chamber upheld that decision. Although it noted that the notifications did not fully comply with the protocol, it concluded that no concrete harm had been demonstrated that would justify annulling the transfers already carried out. The judges also considered that the return of inmates to sectors of Devoto disabled for security reasons could worsen their housing conditions. However, the ruling established guarantees for future transfers. The Chamber instructed Judge Bignone to require the Federal Penitentiary Service (SPF) to comply with articles 11 and 12 of the Protocol for the Transfer of Persons Deprived of Liberty, which provide for notifications to judicial bodies and defense attorneys at least 72 hours in advance. It also ordered the immediate guarantee of access for Procuratorate personnel to inspect and monitor the prisons. After the ruling, the PPN stated in a communiqué that it does not oppose the closure of Devoto or the reorganization of prison capacity. It maintained that its intervention aims to ensure planning, transparency, and respect for the law and the rights of detained persons. Bullrich, on the other hand, considers that the agency's actions affect an Executive Branch decision to vacate the prison. The transfer of inmates from Devoto began on Sunday, October 11, after years of delays in the implementation of Federal Penitentiary Complex VIII of Marcos Paz. In the first two days, the SPF transferred 609 people, more than 40% of the Buenos Aires prison's population, to the new facility, which has a capacity of 2,232 beds. Bullrich supports her position in the inter-jurisdictional agreement reached in 2018 and ratified by the Buenos Aires Legislature through Resolution 100/LCABA/18. In the grounds, she maintains that the redistribution of detainees must proceed toward adequate facilities and questions the Procuratorate's attempt to influence the specific destination of vacancies in the new complex. The fourth request asks Cejas Meliare to detail "the legal grounds on which the PPN intends to arrogate penitentiary administration powers exclusive to the Executive Branch." According to the project, the agency intends for the Marcos Paz prison to be used on a priority basis to house detainees who remain in police facilities of the City of Buenos Aires, a criterion that Bullrich says blocks the planned relocation of the Devoto population. The first two points of the initiative refer to double beds in SPF facilities. The senator requests information on whether the Procuratorate requested, promoted, or endorsed their incorporation into Federal Penitentiary Complex I of Ezeiza or CPF II of Marcos Paz. She also requires knowledge of the technical and legal grounds for a possible change of position in light of previous warnings about "overpopulation, overcrowding, and minimum habitability standards." Another of the requests focuses on detainees' ties with their families. Bullrich seeks to have the official explain how he reconciles the PPN's arguments about the effects of transferring inmates outside Buenos Aires with the efforts to progressively transfer people held in police stations and detention facilities of the City to federal prisons in different jurisdictions. The senator also demands details about the transfer to the City of penitentiary jurisdiction over non-federal crimes and about the construction of modular infrastructure with 400 additional beds on SPF land. The project asks whether the Procuratorate supported, objected to, or rejected those alternatives and on what arguments. At the same time, it requests a comparison between the inspections and judicial actions carried out in facilities of federal forces and those developed in establishments of the City Police. One of the points addresses possible institutional relationships. Bullrich asks to identify whether former officials, former agents, or employees of the Procuratorate on leave hold positions in the penitentiary areas of the City Government. If so, she requests that the mechanisms intended to "preserve the independence, impartiality, and objectivity" of the agency be reported. The text clarifies that the point is a request for information and does not by itself imply the existence of a conflict of interest. The final chapter focuses on restrictions on the entry of personal cell phones into maximum-security sectors. The senator demands that Cejas Meliare explain "the true reasons why the Procuratorate actively resists" complying with current regulations. According to the project, the entry of personal devices into restricted areas "directly undermines the directives aimed at dismantling the operations of organized crime from inside the prisons." Cejas Meliare holds the position of deputy penitentiary procurator and heads the agency due to the vacancy of the top position. The Permanent Bicameral Commission of the People's Defender of Congress ratified his continuation on November 20, 2024. The PPN, created by Law 25.875, has functional autonomy and powers to inspect prisons, examine detention conditions, and promote rights-protection proceedings, while the Executive Branch administers the federal penitentiary system. Bullrich's initiative must still go through the parliamentary process. In the meantime, the closure of Devoto will continue under the conditions set by the Justice system: the rejection of the collective habeas corpus and the obligation for the SPF to comply with prior notifications and facilitate inspections during transfers.