"Not even in 'The Secret in Their Eyes' are the prisoners like this": Waldo Wolff admitted that the conditions of detention in Buenos Aires police stations are "inhumane"

The Minister of Security of the City of Buenos Aires, Waldo Wolff, speaks before the Security Commission of the Buenos Aires Legislature in the context of the series of escapes of detainees from police stations and jails in Buenos Aires, as well as the fight with Patricia Bullrich over the transfer of prisoners who should be under the jurisdiction of the Nation.

In this context, the official said that he agreed with the statements of some legislators who claimed that the conditions of detention are "inhuman" due to the high number of detainees. Along these lines, he dared to make a cinematic comparison: "Not even in 'The Secret in Their Eyes' are they like this."

"I agree with you that it is not only inhumane but it is almost... it is even unintelligent. These people cannot get out any other way than to kill," said the minister in response to questions from legislators who complained about the conditions of detention of the prisoners. "That 's how they are; they are not like that in 'The Secret in Their Eyes'," added the Buenos Aires official while showing photographs showing overcrowding of prisoners.

Wolff compared the situation to the detention status of Isidoro Gomez (played by actor Javier Godino), the thief-killer in the Oscar-winning Argentine film, who is held illegally in a barn by Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago), his victim's husband.

"There is no other way for these people not to want to break down a door, escape and go out to kill people," he insisted in response to questions from the deputies.

Wolff will appear before the commission on Wednesday afternoon, a week after the original date. The minister was supposed to appear on February 18, but a new escape of prisoners forced him to cancel that appointment and reschedule it for this Wednesday. The legislators are not only criticizing him for the escaped prisoners, but also for getting involved in a political fight over the issue with the Minister of National Security, Patricia Bullrich.

During his presentation, Wolff revealed that a man convicted of murder who should be in prison is currently being held in a police station in the city.

" Did you know that we have a person sentenced to life imprisonment, in Cabildo 332, for homicide? Did you know that we have a person sentenced to life imprisonment sleeping in a room, one door away from the street, and they haven't taken him away ?" he asked the legislators.

And he teased them with a warning: " When he escapes, he's going to kill one of his relatives , and 16 judges say he's from the Federal Penitentiary Service, I'm not the one saying it."

Wolff had commented minutes earlier that 16 rulings by different judges of the Nation had ratified what was maintained by the City of Buenos Aires regarding the fact that the detainees should be transferred to the orbit of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

The Minister of Security based part of his presentation on providing figures regarding the situation of detainees in police stations and city halls in Buenos Aires. "The Police are not the Penitentiary Service and have the obligation to apprehend them, that is why last year we arrested 14% more people with 35% more detainees ," he commented.

He recalled that in 2021 the City housed 448 detainees in the City. "What happened from then on? The pandemic came and they stopped taking them. And in 2021 we went to 637; in 2022 to 962; and in 2023 to 1794. They doubled."

"The detainees in the City began to become prisoners. In 2024, there were 2,200 detainees and today, February 2025, we have reached a peak of 2,500 ," he added in his explanation for the increase in prisoners.

In this regard, he added that 95% of the prisoners committed crimes that were not transferred from the national to the Buenos Aires jurisdiction.