Montevideo Heritage Building Evicted After Serving as Crime Hub; Migrant Families Displaced

A once-elegant heritage building in Montevideo's historic Ciudad Vieja district has been forcibly vacated after a decade of being a notorious crime den. Located near key institutions like the Electoral Court and Plaza Matriz, the building at 25 de Mayo and Ituzaingó had deteriorated into a significant criminal hotspot.

Police sources revealed that the fourth floor operated as a drug-dealing point, and the building served as a frequent hiding place for criminals involved in robberies and assaults in the neighborhood. Despite having surveillance footage of offenders using the building, police were unable to intervene without a judicial order. The escalating crime made the surrounding streets dangerous for residents and businesses.

The situation was exacerbated by the building's occupancy by around 30 families, many of them Caribbean migrants, living in substandard and unsanitary conditions. The legal owners, who acquired the property in a 1996 auction, claimed others had taken over and were charging rent for the apartments.

Following a court order, similar to one in 2019, the building was cleared on Tuesday. Residents, previously notified, were seen carrying their belongings to the street, with some families, including children, waiting on the sidewalk in intermittent rain. While the drug-dealing operation was found empty upon police entry, local merchants expressed relief at the closure.

The building has since been boarded up. Daniel Gerhard, national director of Social Protection, assured that no one would be left homeless. The Ministry of Social Development (Mides) identified 20 individuals, primarily mothers and children, as high priority and provided them with housing. Others were directed to ministry shelters and centers.