The country’s federal police cracked down on intimidation of the presidential candidate and his family on social media
Sergio Massa
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Telam Four people were arrested by agents of the Argentine Federal Police, allegedly in connection with death threats on social media received by Economy Minister and Union for the Fatherland (UxP) presidential candidate Sergio Massa and his family as part of proceedings carried out by the Federal Judge María Servini ordered. The arrests were ordered following an investigation carried out by the Federal Police through the Cybercrime Unit and the AntiTerrorism Investigation Unit on the social networks Instagram and TikTok due to threats received by the Massa family. After several search warrants, the addresses of the defendants were determined, sources from this force said.
In Córdoba, two people were arrested, one in Chaco and the other in the Villa Devoto neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires. All were immediately handed over to the courts for immediate questioning. The Federal Dependencies of the Provinces of Córdoba and Chaco (DUOF) cooperated in the operation, which resulted in the confiscation of all equipment used in the operation, such as telephones and computers, from all households.
Police spokespeople clarified that the investigation continues to identify and analyze more than 20 profiles that also published sensitive information about Massa and his family circle.
The first search warrant was carried out at a business office in the center of the capital Cordoba. The inmate’s unidentified brother spoke to the province’s Channel 12 and expressed “anger and a little fear.” He explained that his brother had only expressed “unfortunate words and democratic comments about the ideology on social media,” although he admitted that he was not aware of the content of these demonstrations. The man explained that the police showed up at the office where she works this morning and arrested his brother. He explained: “It seems the government didn’t like what he said on social media.”
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Yesterday, Judge Servini ordered the investigation into death threats made on social media against Massa’s wife and head of the state water company AySA, Malena Galmarini, and the couple’s children, Milagros and Tomás. The judge also requested custody of Galmarini and her children, while also requesting the intervention of the Argentine Federal Police’s Computer Crime Unit, which is investigating the case. Galmarini filed the complaint on November 3 after two TikTok accounts posted her family’s personal information, including the phone numbers of the employee and her children, prompting threats on social media and WhatsApp.
“This happened to me three weeks ago… by order of Judge Servini, my family is under protection because of repeated threats,” Massa revealed at a meeting with businessmen at the Alvear Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon. He urged “to leave behind revenge, friendenemy, division and build an Argentina where dialogue, agreement and state consensus are the rule.”
On Wednesday, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Cecilia Moreau, filed a criminal complaint over threats she received on social media and via email. The email received on their official proxy account came from people claiming Libertarian Forward (LLA) candidate Javier Milei. The same message was received by other lawmakers, including Romina del Plá and Juan Carlos Alderete, who made it public that they had also received the threat.