Since December 2023, the government of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina has invested in policing and prisons as a part of a new push against organized crime. Since then, the crime outside prisons has dropped significantly, and control has tightened inside; but the population inside prisons has continued skyrocketing.

Dynamics between criminal groups inside the prisons, specifically inside the Piñero prison in the outskirts of Rosario, has for years been a threat to authorities trying to maintain control amid chaos in the wings.

In this report from the field, we’ll look inside the Piñero prison, and shed light on the consequences of prisoner overpopulation, the presence of organized crime from within, and the Santa Fe government’s temporary solution to this pressing matter.

Behind Bars in Argentina’s Organized Crime Hotspot | Written by Christopher Newton and read by Liza Schmidt.

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