Milagro Sala definitively sentenced by the court to 15 years in prison

In a ruling that marks a turning point in the fight against political corruption in Argentina, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation upheld the unique sentence of 15 years in prison and absolute disqualification against Milagro Sala, leader of the Tupac Amaru organization. The decision of the highest court, which rejected a complaint filed by the defense, unifies and ratifies firm sentences for crimes committed between 2009 and 2014, including illicit association, fraud against public administration, extortion, and threats.

The ruling was signed by ministers Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti within the framework of the weekly agreement of the Court, and represents a definitive validation of what was solved by the Criminal Court No. 3 of Jujuy on February 10, 2023. With this resolution, Sala, 61 years old and currently under house arrest for health reasons, must serve the consolidated sentence that different judicial instances had already confirmed.

The calculation of the sentence was mainly based on two convictions. The first, issued on January 14, 2019, corresponds to the case known as "Pibes Villeros." In it, it was proven that Sala led an illicit association dedicated to the systematic diversion of public funds intended for the construction of housing for vulnerable sectors in Jujuy. The structure she led centralized and redistributed state resources to cooperatives under her control, many of which never executed the committed housing projects. Part of that money, as was proven, was delivered in cash to Sala and members of her close circle.

For these acts, the Oral Criminal Court 3 of Jujuy sentenced her to 13 years in prison and disqualification from holding public office for the same period, for the crimes of illicit association as a leader, fraud against public administration, and extortion, all in real competition.

The second sentence incorporated into the unified penalty was issued on February 15, 2019, by the Chamber of Criminal Cassation of Jujuy, and subsequently adjusted by the local Court. It is a sentence of 2 years of effective imprisonment for two acts of threats against police personnel that occurred on October 13, 2014, when Sala was a provincial deputy.

In the first phone call, directed to officer Vásquez, the leader demanded the return of clothes seized from an associate and threatened: "You're a bunch of cowards and you'll hear from me because I'm going to plant a bomb and blow you all up." Shortly after, in a second communication to the personal phone of commissioner Cabero, she repeated: "You're a bunch of incompetents, when I plant a bomb you'll know me. I'm going to blow you to hell, you'll know me."

Both convictions were ratified in the provincial courts, and the appeals filed by Sala's defense were systematically rejected by both the Chamber of Cassation of Jujuy and the Criminal Chamber of the local Supreme Court. Finally, the case reached the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which, with this unanimous resolution, considered the complaint inadmissible and definitively closed the judicial path.

The pronouncement of the high court represents a key step in the consolidation of the State in the country. In a context of institutional recovery and transparency driven by the government of Javier Milei, the firmness of Justice in emblematic cases like that of Milagro Sala sends an unequivocal message: the structural impunity that for years protected political-criminal networks is beginning to crumble.