Vice president of Uruguayan state telco ANTEL, Gonzalo Perera, was assaulted in the area of El Pinar while on a walk. Perera had said in March that he had received death threats and had a bodyguard hired.

The attackers wanted to make his death to appear as a suicide and gave him a knotted rope and demanded that he untie it to leave his fingerprints. After untying the knot, the attackers put the rope around his neck. However, when they tried to pass the rope around the branch of a tree, Perera was able to call his bodyguard and the attackers fled.

Perera believes the attacks are related to the decisions he has made in ANTEL. However, Perera said that is undeterred and will "continue working and continue to investigate what I am investigating.”

(180, 13 July 2009)