Cerimedo spends 20 days in Palmasola as transfer to Chonchocoro remains pending

Fernando Cerimedo has spent 20 days in preventive detention at Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz, while his transfer to Chonchocoro in La Paz remains pending.

A court in Santa Cruz rejected the action filed by his defense to stop the move. The defense argued that transferring Cerimedo to Chonchocoro could endanger his health, physical integrity and life, and also requested a medical assessment.

The judges Raúl Lizarazu, Carlos René Roca and Lily Salazar ordered authorities to carry out the transfer. But Palmasola’s administration said it had not yet received an official instruction to execute it.

The General Directorate of the Penitentiary System must issue the order and coordinate with the police the officers who will escort Cerimedo to La Paz, with the operation expected to take place by air. Authorities still need to set the date and time, purchase the escort officers’ tickets and establish security measures for his departure from Palmasola and arrival in La Paz.

Cerimedo, a former adviser to Bolivia’s presidency, was arrested on Aug. 18 after being identified as the alleged intellectual author of an attack against former MAS congressional candidate Nadia Beller. Beller was wounded by three shots at a hotel in Santa Cruz.

On Aug. 21, a judge ordered Cerimedo held for 180 days in Palmasola in a case involving attempted femicide. A separate La Paz investigation into illicit enrichment and money laundering resulted in another 180-day preventive detention order at Chonchocoro, later upheld by a criminal chamber.

While the transfer process continued, Cerimedo suffered a health episode in Palmasola. Prison authorities said he received medical attention inside the facility and was later stable and out of danger. He also faces investigations into domestic violence and alleged protection of drug trafficking in Beni.