Warning about the increase: 26 people died in federal prisons during the first half of 2026

The Procuraduría de Violencia Institucional (PROCUVIN) reported that during the first half of 2026, 26 people deprived of liberty died in facilities of the Servicio Penitenciario Federal (SPF).

The deaths were recorded between January 1 and June 30 and are part of the semiannual report prepared by the Area of Analysis and Interdisciplinary Investigations of the specialized prosecutor's office.

The 26 deaths reported during the first six months of 2026 show a sustained growth trend, according to the report "Deaths in contexts of confinement," published by the Fiscales website.

The Ezeiza Complex I accounted for more than half of the deaths.

The historical series indicates that in 2015 there were 40 deaths; in 2016, 36; in 2017 and 2018, 41 each year; in 2019, 50; in 2020 (in the context of the pandemic), 58; in 2021, 50; in 2022, 42; in 2023, 30; in 2024, 40; and in 2025, 48.

Compared to the same period last year, the figure also exceeds the 22 deaths in SPF facilities reported by the specialized prosecutor's office during the first half of 2025.

The report analyzes the number of deaths occurring in federal prisons, the circumstances in which they occurred, the procedural situation of the deceased individuals, and their distribution across different penitentiary facilities.

The deaths occurred between January 1 and June 30 and were distributed across six facilities. The Federal Penitentiary Complex (CPF) I in Ezeiza recorded 14 deaths; CPF II in Marcos Paz, 4; Unit 6 in Rawson and the Federal Penitentiary Complex of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (Devoto), 3 each; and CPF III in Güemes, Salta, and Unit 11 - Penal Colony of Roque Sáenz Peña, in Chaco, 1 each.

Thus, the facilities located in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) concentrated 21 of the 26 deaths, equivalent to 81% of the total. This proportion exceeds the participation of the units in that region in the federal penitentiary population, which reaches 54%.

Regarding the procedural situation, 15 of the deceased individuals were under indictment, 10 had final convictions, and in one case, no information was available. Thus, individuals without a final sentence represented 58% of the deaths recorded during the semester, despite constituting 36% of the total penitentiary population.

According to the report, most deaths were due to non-traumatic causes, while a smaller number were linked to traumatic events or could not be classified due to insufficient information at the time of the survey.

In terms of the types of deaths, 17 were classified as non-traumatic, 7 as traumatic, and in 2 cases, the cause of death had not yet been determined. The average age of individuals who died from traumatic events was 35 years, while in non-traumatic deaths, it reached 57 years.

Among non-traumatic deaths, the most frequent causes were infectious diseases, with 6 cases, and cardiovascular diseases, with 3. Meanwhile, hangings were the main cause of traumatic deaths, with 5 cases.

Of the seven traumatic deaths, five occurred in CPF I in Ezeiza, which also accounted for four of the five hanging cases recorded during the period.

Regarding non-traumatic deaths, 15 of the 17 deaths occurred in external hospitals, after individuals deprived of liberty were transferred for medical attention.

The report also notes that most of the deceased individuals were serving a final sentence, while the rest were held in preventive detention.

In terms of the victims' profile, males predominated significantly. Additionally, the study analyzes the average age of deceased individuals and warns that, in cases of traumatic deaths, the victims tend to be considerably younger than those who died from non-traumatic causes.

The PROCUVIN also identified that the deaths were not evenly distributed across the federal penitentiary system, but rather concentrated in a small number of complexes and penitentiary units, including the facilities in Ezeiza and Marcos Paz, which historically house a significant portion of the prison population.

The agency explained that the purpose of the report is to "identify, classify, and quantify the deaths occurring in federal penitentiary establishments," as well as to build a statistical series that allows tracking the evolution of these events and detecting patterns or risk factors.

The prosecutor's office recalled that since 2013, it has systematically recorded and analyzed the deaths of individuals deprived of liberty in SPF prisons.

The information is compiled from death notifications sent by the Servicio Penitenciario Federal and is incorporated into a specific database that allows for tracking these cases over time.

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