Attack on Messi's in-laws: 'Not criminals but security forces'

Javkin surprisingly told radio Mitre that recent threats in the Argentine city against Lionel Messi and the attack on his in-laws' supermarket could be a reaction of some sectors of the security forces and not actions of gangs.

"I would not talk about criminal gangs," he said. "In my opinion, the characteristics of this act do not necessarily have to do with gangs, but probably with security forces."

In addition to the gunshots on the locks of Messi's in-laws' supermarket, a message aimed at the Argentine national team captain was found at the scene: "Messi we are waiting for you, Javkin is also a drug dealer, he will not take care of you."

Despite Rosario's storied relationship with drug gangs, Javkin pointed out that attackers - who were caught on security cameras and have not yet been identified - were wearing gloves, had their faces covered and were equipped for the motorcycle attack, so in his view they had little in common with the classic profile of local criminals.

"This is much more than an attack on public order," he said. "The fact that the mayor of the city is mentioned and Messi's name appears, which guarantees worldwide repercussions, and that there was no demand for money, makes me realise that this is a strange thing."

"There has been no act against the Messi family or the Rocuzzo family, there has been no call or request for money."

Reasons that lead him not to rule out the possibility that it was a "reaction" by sectors of the police as "resistance to the changes that need to take place" in the security forces after a new security minister took office in February in the province of Santa Fe, where Rosario is located, and at a meeting on Tuesday, emphasis was placed precisely on the lack of police controls in the area where the attack took place two days later.

Javkin said that "drug trafficking sometimes also involves security forces" and that systematic action is needed from all powers and levels of the state because "drugs and weapons enter Rosario and criminal acts are recorded every day".