The Ministry of Justice concluded Operation Umbral 3.5 on Sunday night, transferring 618 inmates in a simultaneous operation at the National Detention Center (formerly the Tacumbú National Penitentiary) in Asunción and at the Ciudad del Este Detention Center. The goal is to permanently separate convicted inmates from those awaiting trial, as mandated by Article 21 of the National Constitution.
Of the total, 403 inmates with final sentences left the former Tacumbú for the Martín Mendoza Social Reintegration Center in Emboscada, while another 215 were taken from Ciudad del Este to the Minga Guazú Social Reintegration Center. With the transfers, the population of the National Detention Center dropped from around 1,600 to approximately 1,100 inmates, all of whom now have only ongoing legal proceedings.
Justice Minister Rodrigo Nicora stated that the restructuring represents greater safety and control for the population. "We can better implement social reintegration programs," he said, alongside representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of National Defense, the Armed Forces, and the National Police, as well as the National Defense Council (CODENA), which coordinated the operation.
To carry out the operation, 24 transport buses, 420 National Police officers, 182 Armed Forces military personnel, and 137 administrative and security staff from the Ministry of Justice were deployed. More than 100 correctional officers worked inside the facilities, supported by 85 health professionals who conducted medical examinations before and after each transfer. Ambulances from the Out-of-Hospital Medical Emergency Service (SEME) remained on standby throughout the operation, which proceeded without incident.
Following the transfers, the Minga Guazú Social Reintegration Center reached approximately 90% of its capacity, while the Martín Mendoza facility in Emboscada is at roughly 80% occupancy. Both are maximum-security prisons. Nicora indicated that the government's criminal policy will not allow these units to repeat the historical overcrowding problems seen in other prisons across the country.
Interior Minister Enrique Riera emphasized that the government intends to expand the use of electronic ankle monitors and house arrest for defendants charged with minor offenses, as a way to prevent jail overcrowding. According to him, the state has 1,000 ankle monitors, but fewer than 200 are in use. Large-scale implementation, Riera argued, could free up around 8,000 police officers currently assigned to monitoring house-arrested inmates for preventive and operational duties.
Meanwhile, in Misiones, presidential pre-candidate for the Colorado Añetete movement, Arnoldo Wiens, stated during a public event in San Juan Bautista that the Colorado Party will work to impose Lista 1 in all municipalities of the department. Wiens said that the region, of "autonomous and revolutionary thinking," will raise the banner of sovereignty to carry forward a revolution in the country. Among the mayoral candidates presented by the party in the department are José Luis Benítez Herebia (San Juan Bautista), Susana Verza (Villa Florida), Sergio Ramírez (San Miguel), María Gloria Rodríguez (San Ignacio), Derlis "Pincho" Maidana (Santa María), Ignacio Segovia (Santa Rosa), Francisco Acosta (San Patricio), Óscar Cuenca (Santiago), Paul Servín (Yabebyry), and José Mutti (Ayolas).