Adviser Arrested After Ex-Partner Survives Hotel Shooting in Bolivia; Police Probe Possible Romantic Motive

Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine political consultant who has worked with right‑wing figures in the region, was arrested at Santa Cruz airport on Tuesday after a woman he was reportedly linked to survived an attack outside a hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Police detained Cerimedo after Monday night’s shooting in which two men dressed as food-delivery workers approached 33‑year‑old lawyer and political commentator Nadia Beller and fired three shots before fleeing the scene. Local video footage broadcast by Bolivian media captured the assailants arriving and leaving the area.

Beller was wounded in the attack but survived. She was taken to a medical centre, posted from her hospital bed on social media, and was later described by police sources as in stable condition and out of danger.

Nadia Beller survived an assassination attempt at a hotel in Bolivia

Authorities say Cerimedo flew from La Paz to Santa Cruz on Tuesday morning and planned to continue on to Buenos Aires. Santa Cruz police chief David Gomez told reporters officers were deployed to the airport and arrested him as he prepared to board a flight. Investigators said they are "determining whether he had any involvement" and are pursuing several lines of inquiry, including the possibility of a sentimental or romantic dispute between the two.

Cerimedo is an Argentine political consultant who has advised and worked on campaigns for several right‑wing leaders in Latin America, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. He has been serving as an adviser to Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz since Paz took office last November; Paz’s election ended roughly two decades of socialist rule amid a severe economic crisis.

Before the shooting, Cerimedo had already been a controversial figure in Bolivia. In May, the Bolivian vice‑president publicly accused him of interfering in internal affairs after a social media post — an allegation Cerimedo denied.

Nadia Beller is a political analyst and columnist known for her vocal criticism of former president Evo Morales. She previously ran for a congressional seat with the Movement for Socialism party but later distanced herself from Morales and has been associated with the political right in recent years.

Investigation Under Way: Police say they are exploring multiple hypotheses. No charges related to the shooting have been announced publicly yet.