Bolivian police announced the arrest of a fourth suspect in the gruesome attack on a radio reporter who was set on fire live on the air on Monday, Oct. 29, reported BBC.
Fernando Vidal, director of Radio Popular in the city of Yacuíba, was interviewing two women about customs corruption along the border with Argentina when several individuals broke into the studio, poured gasoline on the reporter and a technician and set them on fire.
Police detained three suspects hours after the attack thanks to a witness who noted the license plate number of the vehicle Vidal's attackers used to escape, according to BBC.
The prosecutor said there was sufficient evidence to link the three arrested suspects with the attack on the reporter and a judge placed them in preventative detention, reported the newspaper La Razón. The suspects were charged with breaking and entering, aggravated assault and attempted murder, added the newspaper.
Besides the arrest of the four suspects, Vidal's family demanded that authorities discover the masterminds behind the attack, reported CNN. After the assault, reported Infobae, Vidal said he believed the arsonists were connected to the Movimiento al Socialismo, President Evo Morales' political party.
However, Vidal's son-in-law, Estebán Farfán, said he does not believe Morales' government is responsible for the attack, reported RNW. Farfán suspects the attack originated with "local power groups."
A police commander told CNN that he was aware of the rumors attributing responsibility for the attack to others but said it was too early in the investigation to know for sure if someone ordered the attack on Vidal.
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.
