The day after the raid, the Clarin newspaper ran with the headline: "Official operation of intimidation against Clarin."

Regional press watchdogs and government critics were also quick to condemn the incident as an attack on press freedom in Argentina, part of what they claim is a wider campaign by the presidency to discredit and stem the power of private media. Calling the raid part of a "harassment campaign against the media," Enrique Santos, head of the Inter-American Press Association said, "The actions against Clarín do not appear to be random acts, rather they look more like a scheme aimed at intimidating the newspaper."

The government has denied ordering the raid and said two tax officials have been fired. 

But Clarin's editor Ricardo Kirschbaum said the raid reflected government abuse of power. "For this government, journalism has to be subordinate to their political project," Kirschbaum told the Associated Press. "For the Kirchners, there is no power that can't be disciplined."

The incident comes at a time when Argentina's Congress is debating a controversial media-reform bill led by President Fernandez that would overhaul the country's broadcasting regulations, and ultimately change who controls the media industry in Argentina. The bill would limit the number of licenses any one company, such as Clarin, can hold. Private companies would only be able to control a third of broadcast frequencies, with another third allocated to state broadcasters and the rest given to nonprofit organizations such as universities. 

If passed, the Clarin Group stands to lose a lot. Its media empire -- which includes newspapers, magazines, Internet portals, television channels and radio stations -- would be carved up and sold off in pieces. The group could lose its strong influence in Argentina's media industry and some of its lucrative share of media rights. 

President Fernandez says the media-reform bill aims to strengthen the country's press freedom by reducing the control of several companies that dominate Argentina's airwaves. "Freedom of expression can't become freedom to extort, [and] press freedom can't be confused with freedom for press owners," she said in a recent speech at the presidential palace. "This bill is for every one of us who wants to live in a more democratic and plural Argentina," she added.

But Clarin and other critics of the bill see it as politically motivated and designed to stem the influence of the Clarin Group -- particularly its television channel TN, and Clarin, the country's best-selling daily newspaper, which have been highly critical of the government since Fernandez took over the presidency from her husband, Néstor Kirchner, in late 2007. 

The falling out between Fernandez and the Clarin Group can be traced back to the 72-day strike by Argentine farmers last year over the government's unpopular export tariff regime. At the time, Fernandez and her husband expressed their suspicion of the media and attacked coverage of the bitter strike, claiming the newspapers were the "real opposition."

During Fernandez's tenure, Clarin has published numerous exposés, as well as caricatures accusing the Kirchners and other government officials of corruption. The power struggle between the Kirchners and the country's most influential media conglomerate has become personal, and at times, vindictive. 

Many believe Fernandez blames the Clarin Group's critical stance towards the government for her low approval ratings, hovering around 15 per cent, and for the government's heavy losses in June's midterm elections. 

Press freedom in Argentina has "deteriorated seriously" in recent months, says the Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities. Last year, the organization warned that the government's confrontational stance toward the press "could lead to undesirable polarization that we have been witnessing in recent years in countries with populist governments, such as the case of Venezuela."

Across Latin America, press freedom has gotten worse during the last year, with Mexico and Colombia among the most dangerous countries in the region to be a journalist, according to the Inter-American Press Association. The organization lists Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina, as countries where journalists continue to suffer persistent harassment when reporting about the government and where reporters are often forced to resort to self-censorship to avoid physical attacks and threats.

Following last week's tax raid, the editors at Clarin have vowed not to be intimidated and will continue to probe and hold the government accountable. In the meantime, the fate of the Clarin Group is in the hands of Argentina's Congress.