VP Lara Publicly Breaks With Paz Over Cerimedo, Cites Forensic Evidence

Vice President Edmand Lara escalated his public break with President Paz, telling Argentine television that forensic analysis of Fernando Cerimedo's devices showed "sustained contact" with the men accused of shooting Nadia Beller, and that he had personally seen Cerimedo "give orders and instructions to the ministers" from inside the government. New photographs published by Beller appeared to corroborate the account: one, dated May 2026, shows Cerimedo at a desk on the 23rd floor of the presidential headquarters in La Paz; another places him within Bolivia's official delegation at a March 7, 2026 meeting between Paz and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Cerimedo has denied the claims, saying he never attended cabinet meetings and "has not given orders to ministers." The episode deepened the rift between Paz and Lara, a former police officer who has criticized the government's fuel-subsidy removal since early in the administration.