Cerimedo's attorney alleges Nadia Beller staged an attack

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Argentine political advisor Fernando Cerimedo was arrested at Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, following accusations that he ordered hitmen to shoot his alleged ex-girlfriend, Nadia Beller. Beller, who is four to five weeks pregnant, sustained fractures and gunshot wounds, and has publicly accused Cerimedo of orchestrating the attack to silence her knowledge of illicit schemes involving him and Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz. Cerimedo’s defense attorney, Margarita Arce, denied the allegations, characterizing the incident as a staged political show designed by Beller to destabilize President Paz’s government. Prosecutors have since opened a secondary investigation into Cerimedo for alleged illicit enrichment, resulting in the seizure of assets from two properties linked to him.

Consequences

Cerimedo remains in pretrial detention and is expected to face formal charges from prosecutors on Thursday. The escalating legal situation and the public nature of Beller's claims regarding illicit government business threaten to increase political instability in Bolivia as investigations into both the shooting and Cerimedo's finances continue.

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