MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two newly detained men testify in the case over the shooting of the Bolivian lawyer

Beller was shot three times on August 10 outside a hotel in Santa Cruz and spent five days in hospital

Two men held as part of the investigation into the shooting of Bolivian lawyer Nadia Beller gave statements to prosecutors in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Sunday. One is accused of supplying the weapon used in the ambush; the other, a Colombian national identified as a possible gunman, turned himself in after learning he was being sought.

“They say I am the hitman, but I know nothing. I am handing myself in because I know nothing about this,” the latter said as he arrived at police premises accompanied by his mother. He denied knowing the main defendant in the case and said he could prove he was at home at the time of the attack. Investigators are continuing operations to locate the remaining participants.

The main defendant is Argentine political consultant Fernando Cerimedo, Beller's former partner, whom prosecutors accuse of ordering the attack. On Friday, judge Wilson Espada imposed 180 days of pre-trial detention on a charge of attempted femicide and ordered his transfer to Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz. Prosecutors had requested he be held at the maximum-security facility of Chonchocoro.

Cerimedo categorically denied ordering the attack, called the ruling “madness” and, through his lawyers, said the case had destroyed his career. His defence raised two motions during the hearing — one alleging defective procedure and another seeking to annul the forensic examination of his phone — both rejected by the judge. He has not been convicted.

The charge brought by prosecutors Yolanda Aguilera Lijerón and Herlan Rodríguez Cuevas links the attack to the victim's four-week pregnancy, according to the medical report, and to a prior context of gender-based violence.

Beller was shot three times on August 10 outside a hotel in Santa Cruz and spent five days in hospital. She was discharged on Saturday and left the clinic in a wheelchair under police escort. She took part in the hearing by video link. After leaving the medical centre, she said the attack amounted to a “state crime” and reported that a man seen near the hotel had tried to enter her room identifying himself as a police officer while out of uniform. She said she had received no official response about his identity. Authorities have not commented on that report, which has no independent confirmation.

Cerimedo co-founded the website La Derecha Diario, took part in the communications strategy of Javier Milei's 2023 presidential campaign and advised Rodrigo Paz's campaign in Bolivia. Prosecutors in La Paz have also opened an investigation into alleged illicit enrichment after cash and computer equipment were found during raids on properties linked to him.