Nadia Beller referred to the shooting attack against her and accused her ex-partner, Fernando Cerimedo, of being the instigator of the incident, after the Bolivian Justice decreed 180 days of preventive detention against the Argentine.
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Beller gave an interview while she was hospitalized on the fifth floor of the Clínica Las Américas in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Hours later she was discharged and assured through a statement that she will not be silenced. “I will keep fighting until those responsible are held accountable and Justice prevails,” she said.
Asked about the judicial ruling against Cerimedo, she stated that “Justice acted well” and maintained that the messages extracted from the defendant’s phone would be one of the main pieces of evidence against him. According to Beller, the chats would include exchanges prior to the attack and a subsequent message reporting: “she’s already been shot”.
Cerimedo’s defense has questioned the validity of those messages. However, during the precautionary measures hearing, Judge Wilson Espada rejected the objections raised and allowed the information obtained from the phone to be considered in the process.
According to the accusation by prosecutors Herlan Rodríguez Cuevas and Yolanda Aguilera Lijerón, Cerimedo is “likely the intellectual and indirect author of the crime of attempted femicide.” The document states that he would have “planned and orchestrated the act” and remotely directed an ambush against Beller.
During the interview, Beller said she believes the attack was related to the information she knew about Cerimedo and conflicts between them.
“I am sure the motive was because I knew many things and could tell them,” she said. She also stated that she had informed Cerimedo of her pregnancy between August 10 and 12 and that the Prosecutor’s Office considers this could be one of the possible motives for the attack.
The prosecution also points out that one of the possible reasons for the attempted murder was Beller’s pregnancy and the conflicts with Cerimedo over that situation.
Beller also stated that, before the attack, Cerimedo had told her he planned to move to Santa Cruz so they could live together. According to her account, the day before they had gone to the clinic, where he paid for a vitamin drip and an ultrasound.
The interviewee also said that Cerimedo had previously exercised violence against her and that she was conflicted about reporting that episode. “I told him that I was very conflicted about not having reported his act of violence,” she said.
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Beller said that Cerimedo maintained ties with members of the Bolivian government and had an office in the Government Palace, although, according to her, he did not have an official appointment.
She also said that Cerimedo communicated with Eric Correa, whom she identified as an intelligence chief, and questioned the role of the bodyguards who, she said, had been sent by Cerimedo himself.
Among her statements, Beller said she learned during the process that Cerimedo had been lent US$50,000 in Santa Cruz one day before the attack. Based on that background, she hypothesized that the money could have been related to payment to the material perpetrators. This is a statement made by Beller during the interview.
She also said that Cerimedo had purchased a ticket to Buenos Aires and claimed he intended to leave Bolivia. The Prosecutor’s Office, for its part, stated that there was evidence of a possible escape attempt and that Cerimedo had a ticket to travel to Buenos Aires on August 17 from Viru Viru airport, where he was arrested.
Judge Wilson Espada decreed on Friday 180 days of preventive detention for Cerimedo and ordered his transfer to the Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
During the hearing, four challenges presented by the defense were rejected, including objections to the computer forensic examination of the phone, an alleged violation of rights during the arrest, lack of legal grounds for detention, and a request to nullify the indictment.
The defense has denied the accusations against Cerimedo and questioned the validity of the chats used in the investigation. Likewise, Cerimedo stated that he never intended to flee.
On the other hand, prosecutor Yolanda Aguilera confirmed the detention of another person to obtain background information to determine the identity and location of the material perpetrators of the attack. Bolivian media reported, based on official sources, that two people were detained and that two helmets were found in their possession that would have been used by those responsible for the attack.
