Pablo Grillo, the photo-journalist who was seriously injured by the security forces during a demonstration against President Javier Milei’s government in March, has returned to intensive care due to health complications.
In comments to the press, family members warned his recovery is “not progressing as expected.”
Fabián Grillo, the photographer’s father, said his son had returned to the Hospital Ramos Mejía in the capital for treatment. He said doctors are “monitoring Pablo’s progress” as they assess problems related to the head injuries his son suffered.
In a post on the Instagram account ‘#justiciaporpablogrillo,’ family members said the 35-year-old is “clinically stable in intensive care” and that “neurologically, he is at a plateau.”
Grillo, 35, sustained a fractured skull when he knelt to take photographs of police cracking down on a pensioners’ demonstration outside Congress on March 12.
After several rounds of surgery, he remained in intensive care at the Hospital Ramos Mejía for almost three months before being released for specialist care at another institution.
Grillo’s father said his son’s problems were related to low levels of cerebrospinal fluid – the watery liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord.
“Yesterday the drain on the valve they had placed in him closed,” said Fabián, who said his son was "losing too much cerebrospinal fluid.”
Doctors had to insert a prosthesis and valve due to the severity of the injuries suffered to the skull.
“Yesterday, he was in a drowsy state, and the CT scans showed that the cavity created by the placement of the prosthesis was not filling up,” said the photographer’s father, adding that doctors believe that “either his system is working and the valve is unnecessary, or the valve is malfunctioning.”
“The cerebrospinal fluid is not sufficient to cover the entire brain,” he added.
Fabián thanked well-wishers and emphasised his son “continues to fight” and is “strong.”
“He feels and needs the love that is being sent to him,” he concluded.
Grillo’s injuries shocked Argentines and prompted widespread condemnation from trade unions and press associations.
Footage taken by fellow journalists helped identify the officer who fired the canister, Gendarmerie Corporal Hector Guerrero. It now forms part of the evidence in a legal case investigating excessive use of police force.
The weekly demonstrations by pensioners outside Congress – who are demanding increases to state pensions – have become a key focus of resistance to the austerity measures of President Javier Milei’s government. The rallies have drawn support from football fans, religious groups, students and unions, among others.
Argentina’s security forces, led by the National Security Ministry headed by Patricia Bullrich, have responded to such protests with an iron fist.
The crackdown has been especially harsh on photographers and reporters covering the demonstrations, who are routinely pepper-sprayed despite wearing press credentials. Scuffles and shoving by police have resulted in injuries and damaged equipment.
According to the FOPEA press watchdog, attacks on the press rose by 53 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, with 80 percent of the violence coming from state agents.
In the first five months of this year alone, FOPEA recorded 119 incidents – up from 61 recorded in the same period of 2024.
The surge coincides with President Milei’s repeated verbal attacks on critical media, branding journalists “lying trash, corrupt” and “on the take.” He has declared that “people don’t hate journalists enough.”
A recent report by the Reporters Without Borders media watchdog recently cited Argentina as one of several nations in the Americas that are facing an “alarming deterioration” in press freedom.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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