Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry has announced that lawyer Nadia Beller left the country in the early hours of this Wednesday, November 11, bound for Mexico, after being granted a safe conduct pass requested following threats against her safety in recent weeks. The threats stemmed from her status as the victim of an attempted femicide by her former partner, continental far-right operative Fernando Cerimedo, and from her statements implicating people close to the Bolivian president in corruption and smuggling networks.
Bolivian authorities completed the evaluation of the request submitted by the Mexican embassy and decided to grant the safe passage allowing Beller to leave the country. The decision was officially communicated to the Mexican diplomatic mission on November 10, while the safe conduct pass was delivered in the early hours of this Wednesday, November 11.
According to the source, the procedure was carried out in coordination with the Government Ministry and the General Directorate of Migration, culminating in Beller’s departure from Bolivia during the morning. Beller had taken refuge in the Mexican embassy while awaiting the completion of her asylum process.
The authorities explained that granting the diplomatic exit does not suspend police investigations into Cerimedo’s networks of influence. Cerimedo is currently in pretrial detention and accused of attempted murder of Beller, although this case lost substantial attention after proceedings were brought against the attorney general who was handling the investigation, following strong pressure by the United States.
Beller’s departure was finalized after Mexico granted her diplomatic protection and its representatives in Bolivia carried out the corresponding steps with the Bolivian government. The granting of the safe conduct pass carries on Mexico’s tradition of granting asylum in the face of intimidation and violence against those who expose far-right interference networks in the Southern Cone.
Beller was the victim of an attempted femicide on August 17. Since that time, her case gained widespread attention because of the revelations she made about the Argentinian Fernando Cerimedo, former political adviser to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, and his alleged role in acts of interference in the government environment, money laundering, and other matters. Cerimedo’s wide connections and influence extends as far as Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s Javiel Milei, both of whose presidential campaigns involved Cerimedo.
In late October, Beller denounced an intimidation and abuse-of-authority operation carried out by Bolivian Police officers against an international press team that wanted to interview her about the Cerimedo case.
According to the public complaint, security forces cordoned off the surroundings of a private home to block media coverage, temporarily restricted the journalists’ freedom of movement, and illegally demanded personal documents.
Beller stated that the police deployment followed direct orders from the Bolivian government with the aim of censoring journalistic work and preventing public scrutiny of the judicial process involving Cerimedo, charged not only for the assassination attempt but also for money laundering and narco-trafficking.
Mexico Grants Asylum to Victim of Failed Assassination Attempt That Exposed Cerimedo
During the irregular procedure, Bolivian security agents photographed the press cards and identification documents of the foreign correspondents without a judicial warrant, a maneuver of state intimidation against the exercise of freedom of information.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
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