A radio broadcaster was bombed on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 4, reported the newspaper ABC. According to the website Última Hora, two self-identified members of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP in Spanish) set off two explosives after bursting into the offices of the radio station Guyra Campana in the city of Horqueta, Concepción.
Before setting off the explosives, the suspects threatened César Rojas, owner of the station, and reporter Freddy Rojas, César's son, according to Última Hora. The host and operator on duty were asked to leave the building before the bombs exploded. A third, unexploded device was found near the broadcaster's antenna, the website added.
A statement supposedly signed by the EPP was also found at the scene threatening Paraguay's media, reported the newspaper La Nación. The EPP accused the media of constantly attacking them by publishing the government's rewards for the capture of its members, according to the newspaper.
"This is the answer to your attacks. And if you do not stop your dirty campaigns, consider this the first attack," the statement read, according to the website PPN.
The Paraguayan Journalists' Union (SPP in Spanish) repudiated the attack and demanded better security for press workers, reported the website Paraguay.com. SPP Secretary Vicente Páez said, "citizens needs to take ownership of this case because when they attack journalists, they attack the whole community," reported the website.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
