A specialised watchdog has flagged the continued deterioration of prison conditions across Argentina during the second term of self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist President Javier Milei.
According to the Procuraduría de Violencia Institucional (PROCUVIN), a specialised prosecutor’s office under the Ministerio Publico Fiscal, Argentina’s prison system continues to face severe overcrowding and structural failings despite a surge in public spending.
The institution noted that the current state of the South American country’s prison system is an “escalating crisis” that the Milei-led government must confront amid other challenges in Buenos Aires.
Prisons operate beyond capacity
The National Commission for the Prevention of Torture said overcrowding remains one of the primary structural problems plaguing the country’s prison system.
Argentina’s prisons nationwide are operating at 130.2% of their capacity, meaning 130 individuals are held for every 100 available places, the Buenos Aires Times reported.
It also noted that Argentina has the highest imprisonment rate in its history, detaining approximately 258 individuals per 100,000 inhabitants, contributing to overcrowding.
Among Argentina’s provinces and cities, Cordoba tops the list with nearly 377 prisoners per 100,000 residents, followed by Mendoza (308), Buenos Aires Province (305), Santa Fe (286) and Salta (267).
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Argentina seeks return to visa waiver program of US
Prisoner population continue to surge
The overcrowding problem comes as the number of incarcerated individuals has continued to increase in recent years.
Authorities noted that the federal prison population reached 12,166 detainees in December, marking a four per cent year-on-year increase in 2025.
Santa Fe’s Unit 36 recorded the highest increase, adding 334 detainees compared with December 2024, followed by Federal Penitentiary Complex V in Neuquen (+92) and CPF VI in Mendoza (+65).
Almost two-thirds of inmates held in the Federal Penitentiary Service are serving jail terms, with the number of convicted detainees rising from 6,949 in December 2024 to 7,680 in December 2025, accounting for 63.1% of the total.
Meanwhile, 4,485 individuals were detained without final conviction, with pre-trial detainees accounting for 36.9%.
Female, vulnerable inmates on the rise
Officials also observed that the number of female and transgender inmates increased at a faster rate than the overall prison population.
At the end of 2025, a total of 949 women and transgender inmates were held in federal custody, accounting for 8.1% of the total population, while the number of women deprived of liberty surged by 11.3% year-on-year.
In addition, 10 pregnant women were incarcerated, while 16 women were living in prison with their children, the highest figures in recent years.
Despite the rise in female detainees, the prison population remains dominated by young men, with 93.5% of youths in prison being male and almost seven in 10 inmates aged between 21 and 39.
Deaths while in custody
Beyond the rising population, authorities recorded a notable increase in the number of inmates who die while in custody, signalling the dangers of Argentinian penitentiary.
Federal prisons reported a total 40 deaths in 2024, which was 10 more than the previous year and close to the annual average of 43.
In addition, eight inmates died in Buenos Aires police stations and wardenships, including six from illness and two from violence.
The officials noted that there is also a total of 389 recorded cases of institutional violence, almost 100 more than in 2023.
Govt plans to construct new facility
In response, the government plans to construct new infrastructure, including a maximum-security facility in Cordoba to ease prison congestion in the country.
The planned facility will contain 448 cells and is designed to house over 1,000 inmates classified as “high profile,” which requires ARS109 billion in investment.
But whether this move will be adequate to improve Argentina’s prison situation remains a question, but PROCUVIN is sure that the country’s prison crisis will continue to worsen if overcrowding and inmate deaths continue to persist in the future.
READ NEXT: Crime and punishment: What is behind the Netherlands’ empty prisons?
Hazel Camba 
Eugene Nicklaus S. Laqui