El Libertador wins Adepa award for investigative journalism

The Argentine news outlet El Libertador has won first place in the Investigative Journalism category at the 37th annual Adepa Awards. Jaime Aníbal Meza, the outlet’s editor-in-chief and multiplatform coordinator, received the distinction, making El Libertador the first media organization from the Argentine interior to win this top honor.

The award-winning investigation, titled “From hunger to business, how cattle theft became a criminal industry,” examined the structural transformation of livestock theft in Corrientes. The report detailed how cattle rustling has evolved from individual acts of necessity into transnational criminal organizations utilizing heavy logistics, military-grade weaponry, and encrypted communications.

Using Google Pinpoint technology, the investigation processed hundreds of judicial files and police records to map the criminal circuit, which includes connections to Brazilian gangs and potential complicity within police and judicial spheres.