By Samantha Badgen
César Ríos, director of Argentine newspaper Síntesis, was attacked earlier this month when a group of unknown men threw a home-made bomb to his house in San Lorenzo, in the province of Santa Fe, according to the Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities (ADPEA).
On Saturday Feb. 15, when Rios was not home, someone threw a plastic container filled with gasoline at his house. The Molotov-style explosive hit the window of his children’s room, where they were sleeping, but the fire only destroyed the window, curtains, and some toys.
According to the Argentine news site, La Captial, the explosive was thrown with the intention of causing as much damage as possible, which would have happened if some witnesses who were passing by had not stopped to put the fire out.
Ríos told La Capital that when considering who could have done such a thing, the only reason he can think of is his journalistic job.
“The only problems I have, and have had, are because of my journalistic activity, in this profession you receive threatening letters and documents… but to go to this extreme of wanting to intimidate not just the newspaper but me at my home, it’s a frightening message to society,” Ríos said. “When this is done to me, I have the opportunity of expressing myself to a newspaper… imagine those who can’t."
The attack took place just a few days after journalists from the Mendoza-based newspaper El Sol received threats from a criminal group that traffics drugs in the area.
According to La Nación, ADEPA said they emphatically condemn the attack, which was obviously meant to intimidate, and they ask the authorities to resolve the case as soon as possible.
They also ask authorities to double their efforts in promoting a campaign for more protection for journalists. The campaign asks that the government guarantee protection to journalists, and that they stop inciting violence against journalists and other members of the press.
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.
