At least three Argentine journalists were threatened in recent days, reported the radio station FM Activa. To be a journalist in Argentina is becoming a harder task; aside from having many problems with a government that refuses to respect freedom of information and of the press, lately, the attacks and threats against journalists are becoming more frequent in the country.
According to the newspaper La Arena and the radio station Radio Amanecer, radio journalists Gustavo Raffín and Esther Lutz received anonymous threats after accusing Secretary of the Treasury of the city of Reconquista in the province of Santa Fe, Pablo Fabrissín, of registering vehicles in another province.
On Friday, May 11, Lutz's car was keyed with threatening messages, and a suspicious package was left for her, that contained a bullet and a letter threatening the journalist's son, reported the newspaper Reconquista. On May 10, Raffin found a hand written letter under the door at radio station Radio Diez, where both journalists work. The message warned the journalist to take care of his tongue and life , reported the newspaper Territorio.
Meanwhile, journalist Gustavo Zamar from the city of Las Toscas was also threatened in Santa Fe. A drug trafficker who identified himself as “Cany Espinoza” called the journalist's cell phone and threatened his life on Wednesday, May 9, reported the news site Sin Mordaza.
In a statement, the Argentine Journalism Forum requested "an effective judicial investigation" to find those responsible for the death threats against the journalists of Reconquista, and demanded Mayor Jacinto Speranza to “work toward social pacification and not to encourage verbal or physical violence against the press."
