Political consultant Fernando Cerimedo has been detained in Bolivia while attempting to board an Aerolíneas Argentinas flight to Buenos Aires, hours after his former partner, Bolivian activist and lawyer Nadia Beller, was shot three times.
Cerimedo, an adviser known for his ties to President Javier Milei and other right-wing leaders, was detained by police early Tuesday at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
He was subsequently taken to the offices of the FELCC special Bolivian police force, where he was placed at the disposal of investigators, local media reported.
The attack took place on Monday night at a hotel in the Canal Isuto area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Beller was struck by three bullets and rushed to hospital, where she remains in serious condition.
Images circulating on social media showed Beller being carried on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Initial reports indicated that the attackers may have arrived at the hotel dressed as delivery workers.
Authorities currently consider Cerimedo to be a main suspect in the investigation, although his detention does not mean he has been found guilty or establish that he participated in the attack.
Investigators are seeking to determine what involvement, if any, he had and whether he has any connection to those who carried out the shooting.
“He is under arrest, we are investigating whether he has any involvement. We are working with several hypotheses; the first is that Beller had some kind of romantic problem with Cerimedo,” Santa Cruz Police Commander David Gómez told Bolivian media outlets La Razón and El Deber.
Cerimedo is a prominent political consultant, digital strategist and media entrepreneur who has played a key role in the development of right-wing political movements in Latin America.
He is the one of the leading figures behind La Derecha Diario, a right-wing news outlet, and heads the digital marketing firm Numen. He has faced scrutiny in Brazil over alleged involvement in digital campaigns linked to jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Cerimedo was one of the main architects of President Javier Milei's digital strategy during his 2023 presidential campaign, helping build decentralised online networks and mobilise supporters of La Libertad Avanza.
Although Cerimedo did not take up a formal government post after Milei's election, several people close to him went on to hold positions within the administration.
He previously co-founded a political training school at which Milei once taught courses.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL