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Buenos Aires (AFP) – Two men attacked the front of a supermarket owned by the in-laws of soccer player Lionel Messi in the Argentine city of Rosario and left a message mentioning the captain of the Argentine team, said the mayor of that city, Pablo Javkin.
“Messi we are waiting for you. Javkin is a narco, he will not take care of you,” reads the handwritten message on a piece of paper that the attackers left behind after shooting against the facade of the premises, which at that time was closed.
The message alludes to Javkin, the mayor of Rosario, the largest city in the province of Santa Fe (center), who went to the place.
According to the first expert reports, there were a total of 14 shots that mostly hit the metallic shutter of the supermarket.
“This has been going on for a long time,” Javkin said. “We have five security forces operating in Rosario and yet they can do this because no one is chasing them,” he complained, considering that the attackers seek to “create chaos in the city.”
“Here what is sought is the repercussion, it is very treacherous, what news is more quickly viralizable in the world than attacking Messi?” he said.
The mayor confirmed that the supermarket belongs to the Rocuzzo, political family of the French star Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and world champion in Qatar-2022 with the Argentine team.
“This has to be a limit point, let’s not let them dirty Rosario so easily,” said the mayor when asking for more action from the federal security forces.
In addition to being one of the best soccer players in the world, Messi has 436 million followers on his Instagram account and 113 million on Facebook.
From La Poma, an isolated place in the north of the country where this Thursday he delivered homes, President Alberto Fernández referred to what happened in Rosario.
“Something more will have to be done. We have done a lot, but something more will have to be done because there in Rosario the problem of violence and organized crime is a very serious problem,” he said.
Call of attention
For his part, the deputy chief of Regional Unit 2 of the Rosario police, Iván González, considered that the note “is not a threat” but rather an act “to attract attention.”
The police chief confirmed to the ‘Cadena 3’ radio station that “there were no people injured because at that time the premises were uninhabited.”
The former player and coach of the Newell’s Old Boys club from Rosario, Gabriel Heinze, regretted the episode, considering that the violence “removes” the possibility that the star decides to return to live in Rosario, the city where he spends Christmas every year with his family. .
“This sets him apart from Leo and any other guy who would like to return (to the country). I think it’s crazy. I’m thinking he’s our player and because of the relationship I have, but also because of what can happen to other people. It makes you think if it’s worth it, if they give you a place to do the things you feel, in such a beautiful city…”, said the DT at a press conference.
The incident occurred in the early hours of this Thursday, March 2, and was perpetrated by two subjects who arrived at the scene on a motorcycle, according to a video from a security camera released by the police. The attack was also seen by a witness.
It is a store belonging to the Único supermarket chain in the hometown of Messi and his wife, Antonela Rocuzzo, located 320 km north of Buenos Aires and with a million inhabitants.
Rosario has been plagued for years by criminal gangs associated with drug trafficking, a problem that has deserved different approaches from the authorities.
The attack took place days after a meeting of the heads of all the security forces together with Javkin, the governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti, and representatives of the federal government to draw up new strategies aimed at reducing crime in Rosario.
