MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Supermarket owned by Messi's wife's family targetted by maffia-style assailants

“The note they left has no spelling mistakes, this is uncommon in this type of notice,” Prosecutor Federico Rébola explained

A supermarket in the Argentine city of Rosario owned by the family of Antonela Roccuzzo -Lionel Messi's wife- was stormed by two men on a motorcycle who fired at least 14 shots and left a maffia-style threatening message for the national football team's captain. The note also said Rosario Mayor Pablo Javkin was a “narco” who would not protect the Messi family.

“Messi, we are waiting for you. Javkin is a drug dealer, he will not take care of you,” read a handwritten piece of paper left by the perpetrators.

Jakvin went to the store and expressed his solidarity with the Roccuzzo family, amid tensions between the provincial and national governments over the drug war going on in Argentina's third-largest city with a tradition of violence. (Read also: https://en.mercopress.com/2023/01/27/messi-s-native-town-not-a-safe-place-to-live ). A month ago, Javkin publicly criticized Rosario Central coach Miguel Angel Russo for saying some players were unwilling to play in Rosario out of safety concerns.

In this scenario and with the presidential elections in mind, former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said her current successor Aníbal Fernández should resign because “the drug traffickers have won”.

“The country does not need commentators, it needs ministers who beat drug trafficking,” the chairwoman of former President Mauricio Macri's PRO party wrote on social media.

Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta suggested the Federal Government sent 3,000 Gendarmería (Border Guard) troops to patrol the city chasing drug dealers “while the Armed Forces shield our borders.”

Meanwhile, President Alberto Fernandez admitted that “in Rosario, the problem of violence and organized crime is very serious.”

Prosecutor Federico Rébola, who is handling the case, said the perpetrators “were looking for public impact” and ruled out that the assailants wanted “something from the Roccuzzo family.”

“The note they left has no spelling mistakes, this is uncommon in this type of notice,” he added while explaining that non-drug trafficking leads were also being followed at this time, thus hinting political damage to Javkin could be a motive.

“It is easy to harm Rosario and there is no concrete help for Rosario,” Javkin lamented.

Despite the attack in the early hours of Thursday, the Roccuzzo family opened the store to customers later Thursday, albeit with extra police security.