Overview
- The last 69 inmates were moved to the Complejo Penitenciario Federal VIII in Marcos Paz on Thursday in a coordinated operation led by the Servicio Penitenciario Federal with the Policía Federal, Gendarmería Nacional, Prefectura Naval and Policía de Seguridad Aeroportuaria.
- With those transfers completed on November 12, no prisoners remain at Villa Devoto and Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva declared the facility closed under the slogan “Cerrado Devoto.”
- The evacuation was phased: the desocupación began on October 11, the first stage ended around October 19 after roughly 1,400 inmates were relocated, and about 1,500 people in total have been reassigned to Marcos Paz so far.
- Pope León XIV visited Devoto on Wednesday to meet inmates, and the final group of 69 remained behind specifically to participate in that visit before being transferred the next day.
- Marcos Paz sits on an 80‑hectare site with four maximum‑security units and capacity for about 2,232 people; the move implements a 2018 national‑city agreement and authorities plan to demolish Devoto and later transfer roughly 350 detainees now held in city police stations into the federal complex.