Palm trees and well-tended flower beds brighten the grounds of the four grey stone and concrete buildings of Villa Devoto Detention Institute in Buenos Aires. But the facade hides a multitude of sins and sinners: inside, Villa Devoto is the darkest penal hellhole in all Argentina.
The prison has a rated capacity of only 800 prisoners, but the filthy cells are crammed with 2,180 men. Some have been waiting three years for their cases to come to trial. At noon one day last week, discontent in Villa Devoto reached the flash point. Attempting...
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