After two days of tension, nerves and controversy over the
risks posed by
moving drug lord Miguel Angel "Mameluco" Villaba (60) from Penitentiary Complex 1 in Ezeiza to the Morón Courts, the Minister of Security of the Nation took action on the matter in a manner staff.
In a five-page note - signed by her and the Secretary of Penitentiary Affairs, Julian Curi, Bullrich asked the Oral Criminal Court No. 6 of Morón to
reverse its decision
to order the transfer of the capo so that witness each of the hearings of the trial for the kidnapping and crime of Candela Sol Rodriguez, in which he is the main defendant.
Apparently the judges argue that Villalba has to go in person since there is no system
in the courtroom
that allows for a remote connection to the jail.
"We hereby come to request that, for
strict reasons of public security
, the transfer of the inmate Miguel Ángel Villalba, housed in the Federal Penitentiary Complex I of the SPF, to the headquarters of the Oral Criminal Court No. 6 of the judicial department of Morón, on March 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22, 26 and 27, April 3.5, 9 and 10, 2024," the minister's note begins.
Video
The story of the drug lord who wanted to be mayor was linked to the Candela case and adulterated cocaine.
"The
characteristics and scope
of the criminal organization that Miguel Ángel Villalba is part of, its links with the security forces, and the very high risk of escape that it presents, account for the certain risk to public safety that the transfer of the inmate Villalba poses" , concludes the presentation that proposes insisting on the videoconference method.
The courtroom where "Mameluco" Villalba is tried.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger
Miguel Angel "Mameluco" Villalba is one of the heaviest drug traffickers in San Martin.
Sentenced to 27 years in prison, he is classified as a "high risk" prisoner.
That is why he lives in an isolation module in Penitentiary Complex I of Ezeiza and that is why his transfer on Tuesday morning to the Morón Courts was a real mess.
Lio that
was repeated this Wednesday
although only three witnesses testified at the hearing.
Villalba is accused of being the ideologue of the kidnapping and crime of Candela Sol Rodríguez, which occurred in 2011, a case whose second trial (there were already three convictions in 2019) began this week in the hearing room of the Oral Criminal Court 6 of Morón.
Fearing that he would escape on the way from prison to court, the Federal Penitentiary Service (SPF)
advised against moving him
and proposed that he attend the trial virtually.
But the court
insisted on his presence
and that unleashed a series of controversial decisions and tug-of-war that concluded with an extreme security operation Tuesday and Wednesday.
As
Clarín
was able to verify (reserving details of the capsule in which Villalba was transported) "Mameluco" traveled in an armored mobile.
In total, 9 mobiles from the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB) were used with 30 armed agents and a tenth mobile full of police from the Halcón group of the Police of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Why did the Province intervene if Villalba is in a Federal prison?
The question does not have a simple answer: when Morón's TOC 6 insisted that Villalba should be taken to court, the Federal Penitentiary Service - which manages the Ezeiza complex - made use of internal regulations that say: transfers of inmates housed in units within the scope of this Federal Penitentiary Service requested by the different provincial courts and tribunals will be channeled through the penitentiary services of those jurisdictions."
In other words, after unsuccessfully arguing before the Court that moving Villalba was practically crazy in terms of security, the SPF passed the question on to its colleagues at the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB).
"The trial is going to last until April, with three hearings per week. It is impractical to safely take Villalba de Ezeiza back and forth every time there is a hearing," one
of the sources committed to the success of the transfer summarized to
Clarín
. which supports the position that Bullrich has now taken personally.
A "high risk" prisoner cannot follow routines when moving.
The schedules and routes always change and the guards must be different to guarantee that they do not escape.
A real challenge, which can go wrong.
P.S.