Argentina launches drug gang offensive after violence rocks farm hub city

A chair is pictured inside a house that neighbours said to be an alleged drugs sales point, destroyed by them after Maximo Jerez, an 11-year-old was killed early Sunday when at least one gunmen attacked a birthday party, in Los Pumitas neighborhood, as the National Government deployed forces to help control escalating violence in river port city of Rosario, in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

ROSARIO (Reuters) - Argentina launched an offensive on gangs in the farm hub city of Rosario on Wednesday, bringing in some 575 security personnel after a spate of attacks including the killing of an 11-year-old boy and a threat against soccer star Lionel Messi.

The inland river port city, that has a history of gang violence, has seen around one murder a day this year, which has rattled the country and prompted a major national response.