A firebomb was thrown at a truck for the television program Juez Justo TV, which is hosted by ex-police colonel Benedicto Jiménez, reported Panamericana Televisión. The attack occurred in the Peruvian capital of Lima in the wee morning hours of Wednesday, June 29.
Juez Justo TV is a program that airs complaints and denounces people, and its host did not rule out the possibility that the attack was payback, although he added that an attack would not stop him from continuing to "denounce corruption cases," according to La República.
In recent weeks the program had aired "investigations into land speculators in Pachacamac, and Giovanni Paredes, who owes 60 million soles ($21.8 million) to the prosecutor," said Jiménez, as quoted by Correo. "I don't want to point the finger at anybody, but it seems very strange to burn the program's mobile unit when we are airing revealing reports that are uncomfortable for many."
Paredes, the businessman that Jiménez alluded to, denied that he was behind the firebomb, according to Panamericana Televisión, which added that Paredes is facing a legal dispute regarding real estate speculation.
A city security camera shows the exact moment the firebomb was thrown at the television truck, which was parked on the street, reported Perú21. Police are investigating the case, added La República.
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.
