Arsonists burned the car of two journalists in Argentina, presumably because of their reporting, on Monday, March 18, reported the website El Tribuno. The vehicle, owned by brothers Víctor Hugo and Raúl Cortez, was quietly rolled out of the reporters’ garage at their home and burned on a public street in the city of Tartagal, Salta, in the northern part of the country, added the website.
A neighbor’s shouting alerted the reporters to the crime around 3 a.m., according to the radio station FM Alba’s website. Witnesses reported seeing two people dressed in black in the area, reported the website.
Víctor Cortez alleged that the arson was a reprisal for his reporting, namely a report that ran this week on where drugs were sold in the city, he told the Argentine Journalism Forum, or FOPEA. The Cortez brothers host two local news programs.
FOPEA demanded the authorities investigate the attack and guarantee the safety of the journalists and their families, according to a press release, The organization noted that several attacks on journalists took place in the northern city during 2009.
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.
