Attorney General Casal issues a stern warning to the government over the change in the procedural system in Comodoro Py.

The Javier Milei administration, through the Ministry of Justice, announced that on August 11, the accusatory procedural system will be implemented in Comodoro Py—the court that investigates money laundering, drug trafficking, and corruption of national officials. The Attorney General of the Nation, Eduardo Casal, sent a note to the Ministry of Justice after receiving complaints and expressed concerns from both the investigating and trial prosecutors in the main corruption cases. In the note , he spoke of a "marked lack of predictability" regarding the official announcement, a lack of "applied resources," and a danger that the change he is seeking will fail.

In 18 pages, the chief prosecutor outlined various circumstances occurring in jurisdictions where the current government implemented the accusatory system, jeopardizing—according to the Public Prosecutor's Office—the proper functioning of this model, which gives prosecutors complete preponderance in investigations.

Casal's considerations regarding the "problems and lack of resources" reflect a "worrying overall picture that appears to be worsening with the continued incorporation of more jurisdictions , without having fully addressed the needs of those already established."

The Attorney General warned that "the very effectiveness of the reform and the ability of the Public Ministry to adequately fulfill its mandated mission may be compromised ."

In less than a week, the investigating prosecutors and the attorneys general of the Comodoro Py Oral Courts sent letters to Attorney General Casal expressing concern about the decision of the Ministry of Justice, headed by Mariano Cúneo Libarona.

For this reason, in a lengthy note, the chief prosecutor addressed the government with express concern about the current situation.

The last document the Attorney General received was signed by the prosecutors in charge of trials for large-scale corruption cases: Vialidad II, Odeberecht, Skanska, Cuadernos de las Coimas, Diversion of funds in YCRT, Hotesur-Los Sauces, among others.

The entry into force of the Federal Criminal Procedure Code is one of the greatest legal challenges facing our country. There is a strong clash between the politically driven timeline and the serious crisis facing the Judiciary and the Attorney General's Office regarding vacant positions. The figures are unprecedented: 30.5% of national and federal judgeships are vacant . The number is even more serious for the Public Prosecutor's Office: 42% of offices are without a permanent prosecutor .

From various perspectives, prosecutors led by Eduardo Casal maintain that "all the activity we carry out is purely accusatory in nature, which is why we support extending this characteristic to the initial stage of the process." However, they are concerned about the conditions under which the government is implementing the changes.

The chief prosecutor raised this alarm with his subordinates, who " unanimously warned of serious structural, technological and human deficiencies."

These widespread shortcomings "could seriously compromise the effective implementation of the new system, as well as the cases currently being processed before those courts."

The presentations agree on the lack of comprehensive planning, adequate infrastructure, and sufficient human resources. Most of them make specific demands for immediate improvements in information technology, connectivity, and specialized investigative capacity, as well as the urgent need to balance human resources between the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

For example, the attorneys general stated that their offices "handle corruption cases—in which the crimes are complex and the number of people involved and accused who held the top positions in the national government is multiplied—in addition to other federal crimes."

This situation "exposes a criminological reality specific to our jurisdiction , distinct from any other." Therefore, they understand that implementing the accusatory system in other jurisdictions cannot be replicated without taking into account the specificities of the cases handled in Comodoro Py.

Under this premise, they expressed deep concern about what they understand to be a "untimely decision to implement the Federal Procedural Code under the current conditions."

The chief prosecutor detailed the current situation of the prosecutor's offices in Comodoro Py and in the Economic Criminal Court, noting that the assessment "shows that the building conditions of the prosecutor's offices are deficient. Only three of the 40 offices in which the federal prosecutor's offices in Buenos Aires City operate are adequately sized for the current functions and staffing requirements of this procedural system."

In this context, the note continues, "there is a clear need for more space for the Public Prosecutor's Office , which is adapted to the design of the fiscal units planned for the country's accusatory system."

With that criterion, Casal told Cuneo Libarona that the conditions in Comodoro Py and the building on Inmigrantes Street—where the prosecutors of the economic criminal jurisdiction work—are "far" from meeting the standards required for the proper functioning of the Public Ministry under the new scheme and, consequently, that the time remaining until August 11 will not be sufficient to make the necessary adaptations."