Messi receives threatening message in his city Rosario

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentine star Lionel Messi was the victim Thursday of a threatening message thrown at the door of a supermarket belonging to his wife’s family located in the city of Rosario, which, in turn, was attacked by bullets.

The event had a big impact in Argentina and forced the authorities to publicly address the prevailing insecurity in the footballer’s hometown and find a clue as to what happened.

“Messi, we are waiting for you. Javkin is a narco, he’s not going to deal with you,” reads the handwritten text in capital letters on a piece of paper, police report. The message refers to Pablo Javkin, mayor of Rosario – the footballer’s hometown and considered the most dangerous in the country because violent drug gangs operate there.

The message – removed by the police and published by the press – was left at dawn in front of a supermarket belonging to the Único chain belonging to the family of Antonela Roccuzzo by two men who were riding a motorcycle and shot 14 times against the premises, according to witnesses and preliminary investigations by the police.

Argentinian President Alberto Fernández acknowledged that “the problem of violence and organized crime” in Rosario “is very serious”. “We are doing a lot, but obviously something more will have to be done,” the president said at an official ceremony in the northern province of Salta.

Federico Rébola, the prosecutor investigating the attack, said there are recordings of it from cameras set up on public roads and that investigators are looking for other recordings. “Anything we have at the moment is very preliminary,” the official said. He also indicated that there is no history of threats against the Roccuzzo family.

Claudio Brilloni, security minister for Santa Fe – where Rosario is located – said there was no guessing what caused the event and that security forces will ensure the supermarket “continues to operate normally. “.

Messi, captain of Qatar’s World Cup champions, has yet to make a public statement about the attack in the city he visits every year and where his family lives.

Referring to the fact, the mayor of Rosario criticized the lack of protection suffered by the city, located about 300 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, by the national authorities.

“Where are those who have to take care of us? Here it is clear that those who have weapons and have the ability to do criminal intelligence do not do it and it is very easy for any gang to generate this fact,” Javkin told reporters.

The mayor questioned the actions of “those who have to take care of us, the forces that have weapons”, in reference to the police of the province of Santa Fe, the federal police, the naval prefecture (military police of the guards -coasts) and the Gendarmerie (military border police).

The area where the store is located is the scene of constant crime and completely unprotected from federal forces, Javkin said.

National Security Minister Aníbal Fernández responded to criticism by saying the national government had deployed more than 3,500 soldiers from different security forces and was “investing money” to reverse the violent situation which, he said, he asserted, lasts for 20 years. years in Rosario. .

“They (drug traffickers) won but the situation must be reversed and we are ready,” said Fernández, alluding to the fact that in 2022, 2,077 criminals were arrested.

According to the police investigation, during the attack in the middle of the night, the assailants stopped the march and one of them got off the motorcycle to shoot a gun at the front of the square and then s fled.

Police officers checked 14 impacts in front of the store and recovered 12 pods on the spot.

Santa Fe Governor Omar Perotti and Javkin recently met to discuss the violence and insecurity in the city.

The attack sparked backlash from opponents of the national government.

Former President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), one of the opposition leaders, said “it’s terrible”.

“Another warning to the national government and to the Santa Fe government that you cannot live with the drug dealer. It must be fought with determination. At the end of the year, that starts to change. All my support to Leo, Antonela and their families”, added the also president of the FIFA Foundation in reference to the general elections in October.

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, mayor of Buenos Aires and one of the leaders of the opposition who aspires to the presidency, called for “a national government present and busy to recover the street, with 3,000 gendarmes hunting down drug traffickers while the Armed Forces (Armed Forces) protect our borders”.

Journalistic versions suggest the attack could be linked to violent football fans in the city. A month ago, Javkin slammed Rosario Central football club chief Miguel Ángel Russo for saying it was difficult to get reinforcements as some players refused to play there due to insecurity.

Meanwhile, Messi, 35, is negotiating the renewal of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, which ends in the middle of the year, amid expectations from fans of Rosario’s other club, Newell’s, that his career is over. .play for this team.

The striker – who this week received the FIFA award for the best football player in 2022 – could travel to Argentina from March 20 to join the team which will play two friendlies. One will be played on March 23 against Panama in Buenos Aires and the second five days later against Curaçao in the northern city of Santiago del Estero.