Overview
- A viral video from last weekend shows two youths in Bahía Blanca attacking and killing a coipo, a semi‑aquatic rodent also called a nutria, and prompted a criminal complaint from animal‑protection activists.
- Authorities identified the suspects as Juan Bautista Bravo and Imanol Santerre, both 18 and originally from Huanguelén, and executed raids that resulted in the seizure of their mobile phones for forensic review.
- The two accused have told investigators they received hundreds of threatening messages after the clip spread and have formally asked the justice system to examine and include those messages in the case file.
- The Municipality of Bahía Blanca presented itself as a particular plaintiff and local officials have condemned the killing while investigators seek to secure the full audiovisual record for prosecution.
- Prosecutors are evaluating the case under national wildlife protection law and provincial rural rules that can carry penalties of up to two years, and local Zoonosis had reportedly tried days earlier to locate the animal for rescue.