MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay needs maximum security correctional facilities for women, Justice Minister says

Minister Pérez said measures need to be taken considering the dangerousness of several inmates

Paraguayan Justice Minister Cecilia Pérez Sunday considered maximum security wards for imprisoned women were necessary after ammunition was found near the Buen Pastor correctional facility. women's prison and the work they did to prevent them from entering the prison.

The local Police and the Prosecutor's Office found ammunition hidden in packages of women's intimate care items Friday near the Buen Pastor penitentiary and do not rule out the possibility that it was an attempted escape. An activated grenade was among the items found.

Pérez Sunday highlighted the intelligence work carried out to prevent the artefacts from entering the penitentiary. She added that it was the first time that such a finding had taken place and underlined the need for maximum security wards for women, taking into account the dangerousness of several inmates.

According to prison sources, the authorities have averted the alleged escape plan for the leader of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP), Carmen Villalba, after an inmate named Blanca Rosa, who apparently conflicted with Villalba, had been transferred.

“Blanca Rosa is a person considered highly dangerous and ... if she intends to escape, she will kill anyone to achieve her goal,” said Pérez, who insisted the internal conflict was staged to take advantage of the situation. Regarding Blanca Rosa, Pérez insisted that she does not belong to any clan, but she does have several followers. “She is a natural leader. She does not belong to any clan and is deprived of her freedom due to spectacular robberies, ... a rather unusual profile in women,” Pérez said in an interview.

On the other hand, she spoke of the need to move the women's prison to another location and with adequate infrastructure for mothers who are deprived of liberty.

She also specified that the price of Buen Pastor in 2017 was US $ 17 million, while “in Emboscada we have a lot of lands.” The minister insisted “it is the only secure place to build.”

Security agents had found 32 9-millimetre cartridges wrapped in packages of sanitary pads, which were allegedly intended to be sent over to the penitentiary as parcels.