Bolivian prosecutors charge Milei ex-advisor over shooting attack on ex-girlfriend

Prosecutors in Bolivia are preparing to formally charge Fernando Cerimedo, a former advisor to Argentinian President Javier Milei and Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, in connection with a shooting attack on his ex-girlfriend, Nadia Beller. A source in Santa Cruz de la Sierra confirmed that the charges will be presented today, followed by a court hearing to determine if Cerimedo will be held in pre-trial detention. He is currently detained in a cell at the Special Force to Combat Crime.

Cerimedo refused to testify yesterday, a decision his lawyer advised. Meanwhile, authorities are still searching for the two individuals believed to have carried out the shooting, identified from security camera footage outside the hotel where the attack occurred. Beller told La Nación that Cerimedo had encouraged her to go to the hotel, claiming she was meeting an informant about Evo Morales. She was on the phone with Cerimedo when she was shot.

From her hospital bed, Beller described her ex-partner as the "power in the shadows" behind Paz, alluding to alleged corrupt dealings by the Bolivian president that could implicate Cerimedo. She also suggested Cerimedo was responsible for leaking audio recordings that triggered a bribery investigation into Argentina's National Disability Agency (Andis). Following Beller's statements, Argentinian lawmaker Marcela Pagano requested that Argentine authorities urgently summon Beller as a witness in the Andis case.

Bolivian authorities have also opened a new investigation into alleged illicit enrichment against Cerimedo, prompted by Beller's claims of finding large sums of cash in his apartment and findings from a search of his residence in La Paz. The search reportedly uncovered money and hidden compartments in furniture.