By Diego Cruz
A bomb planted by unknown men detonated in front of a home belonging to Peruvian journalist Yofré López Sifuentes in the early hours of Tuesday April 22, according to the daily La República.
The bomb was placed at the entrance of López Sifuentes' house in the city of Barranca. The explosion damaged the front and interior of his home, indirectly injuring his mother, Matilde Elizabeth Sifuentes, and his father-in-law, Carlos Luis Colombier Huertas, who tried running over debris created by the detonation.
“I could hear nothing, it felt like I was floating, I thought they had come into my house to kill us, everything turned to rubble in seconds, it became chaotic,” López Sifuentes told the press.
The journalist is the director of weekly newspaper and blog Barranca.pe and hosts the radio show “Toque de Queda” (“Curfew” in English). He told the press he believed the attack took place in response to his journalistic work.
According to La República, López Sifuentes had condemned pollution caused by sugar companies in the region during his program and reported on a potential corruption case related to the purchasing of electronic certificates in the municipality.
Similarly, several months ago there was an explosion in the home of Alfredo Palacios, deputy mayor of the town Nueva Esperanza, who had also confronted sugar companies over the pollution they produce.
The explosion in López Sifuentes’ home affected more than ten homes, though it only resulted in property damage, according to Barranca.pe. The identity of those responsible remains unknown.
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.
