Argentina: When gunmen opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in Argentina on Thursday, they left a written message threatening the legendary Argentine football player Lionel Messi, according to police.
It is unknown why the attackers chose to target Messi or the Unico supermarket in Rosario, Argentina's third-largest city, which is run by the family of Messi's wife, Antonella Roccuzzo. No one was hurt in the early morning attack.
Rosario, which is about 190 miles (300 kilometres) northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires, has seen an increase in drug-related violence. The city's mayor, Pablo Javkin, went to the grocery store and blasted the federal government for what he called their failure to stop the violence.
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Police reported that two men on a motorbike opened fire on a Unico branch in the early morning hours, leaving a message that read, "Messi, we're waiting for you," on a piece of cardboard. Javkin won't look after you because he is a drug dealer as well.
Messi has been silent. Messi, who is widely regarded as the greatest player to ever play the game, is a hero in Argentina, especially after he guided the team to the nation's first World Cup victory in 36 years in Qatar in December.
Messi currently represents Paris Saint-Germain and spends most of his time abroad, but he frequently travels to Rosario to visit his home in the Funes neighbourhood. A picture of the French team was uploaded to social media of Messi training on Thursday morning.
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Federico Rébola, the prosecutor in Rosario, stated that the investigation was "preliminary" and that authorities were looking through security camera footage. He added that it was the first time Messi's in-laws had ever received a threat of this nature.
The attack was "terrorism" carried out by a "mafia" group with the intention of intimidating the general populace, according to Celia Arena, the justice minister for the province of Santa Fe, where Rosario is located.
"The aim is to deliberately cause terror in the population and demoralise those of us who are fighting against criminal violence, knowing that it will be an event of global significance," Arena wrote in a social media post.
Javkin, a center-left politician opposed to the Peronist coalition in power, seemed to implicate both criminal gangs and federal security personnel in the attack. According to Javkin, "I doubt everyone, even those who are supposed to protect us," in an interview with a nearby radio station.
He claimed that over the past few weeks, he had "very strong discussions" demanding that the federal security forces do more to combat crime in the city.
"Who needs to look after us? Where are they?" said Javkin. "It's obvious that those with the power to investigate the criminals and the means to do so aren't doing it, and it's very simple for any gang to carry out an act like that,"
Anbal Fernández, the minister of security for the federal government, claimed that drug-related violence in the city was not a recent occurrence and that Thursday's attack was typical of what had been occurring there "for the last 20 years."
He claimed that the incident served as an illustration of how drug dealers "have won" Rosario, but added that "we now have to reverse that."
The administration of President Alberto Fernández was blamed by opposition politicians for the ongoing violence in Rosario. The events, according to his predecessor Mauricio Macri, should serve as a reminder that the nation cannot "co-exist" with drug traffickers.
The 35-year-old Messi is currently renegotiating an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain that expires this year amid rumours that the football legend may choose to call it quits by signing with one of the local Rosario clubs, Newell's.
Messi, who this week won FIFA's award for best male player, might visit Argentina later this month to take part in two international friendlies with the national team. One game is on March 23 against Panama in Buenos Aires, and the other is five days later against Curacao in Santiago del Estero in the country's north.
