Justice and Human Rights Minister Fernando Rabat denied this Wednesday at La Moneda that the government had abandoned plans to expand Santiago Uno prison. The project aimed to house organized crime leaders in new units.
According to La Tercera, the government has had to postpone construction of the maximum-security units for now. The reason is a legal dispute initiated by the Municipality of Santiago that remains unresolved.
According to the same outlet, cited by Emol, the project included three high-security units and one maximum-security unit. The tender was due to take place this past May. The ministry will now tender the prison concession without including those works while the litigation continues.
Rabat distinguished between the two processes. "The operation of the Santiago Uno prison facility is out to tender," he explained. He added that the contract has a fixed term that is nearing its end and therefore needs to be renewed.
On the expansion, he was emphatic: "There has been no withdrawal." According to the minister, the injunction currently in force prevents any procedures related to the new works.
The project originated during Gabriel Boric's administration. The new prison would be built next to the existing Santiago Uno prison and the Justice Center, in the so-called "Prison District" in the Rondizzoni area of the municipality of Santiago.
The announcement immediately triggered a tug-of-war with the municipality. Then-Mayor Irací Hassler (Communist Party) strongly opposed it. Her successor, Mario Desbordes, continued the campaign. Following the change of administration, however, the new government authorities backed the initiative.
Desbordes led the municipality's latest challenge. He secured an order from the 17th Civil Court of Santiago halting any procedures concerning the project.
Prison overcrowding lies at the heart of the conflict. Rabat said the country needs "a greater number of available places" and that Santiago Uno was included in that plan. The sources do not provide current overcrowding figures.
For now, the winners and losers are clear. The municipality is blocking a project it opposes within its territory. The government is left without the high-security places it sought for the capital, pending the court's ruling on the merits of the case, with no known date.