Event Summary
On 9 July 2025, the First Sentencing Court of Concepción, in the department of Santa Cruz, began, after more than three years, the trial of the Las Londras case, an emblematic case of violence against six journalists, perpetrated by land grabbers in October 2021 who are accused of the crimes of serious and minor injuries, deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery, illegal possession or carrying of a weapon of war and attempted homicide and threats.
The second hearing, scheduled for 5 August 2025, was prevented by a conflict of jurisdiction filed by three of the five defendants, who demanded to be tried by the indigenous and original peasant justice system and not by criminal means. The conflict of competence between the indigenous and ordinary jurisdictions must now be resolved by the Plurinational Constitutional Court, a situation that can take months, thereby paralyzing the trial. The only victim who attended this hearing, Percy Suárez, a cameraman for the ATB television network, expressed his indignation at this maneuver, which he described as an “axe in the back” for the victims.
The Las Londras case refers to an incident of violence against journalists that occurred on 28 October 2021, when, in addition to Suárez, journalists Silvia Andrea Gómez López and her cameraman Sergio Luis Martínez Galarza of the Unitel Network, Mauricio Egüez Simoné and cameraman Nicolás Alejandro García Iriarte of Red Uno and Jorge Alberto Gutiérrez Ávila of the newspaper El Deber were ambushed and later tortured by an armed group of hooded bullies. The cameraman of the PAT network, Roger Ticona, was able to escape and alert about this fact.
The paralysis of this important trial increases the hostile outlook for the work of journalists and media outlets in Bolivia, which has been aggravated by political polarization ahead of the national elections. Between January and June 2025, the UNITAS Observatory of Rights Defenders recorded 95 violations against press freedom. Of these, 51 (54%) occurred in the context of social conflicts due to national elections and the economic crisis, which have brought with them verbal and physical violence, stigmatization, gender violence, threats and censorship against journalists from national media and international correspondents.
The impact on the enabling environment is severe, as it consolidates a pattern of impunity in crimes against journalists and the media. The paralysis of the trial due to a conflict of jurisdictional competences indefinitely postpones the identification and punishment of those responsible, weakening the credibility of the justice system and citizen confidence in the rule of law. This type of procedural delay directly affects the principle of respect for and protection of fundamental freedoms, since the attack on the six journalists not only violated their right to inform and communicate, but also society’s right to receive truthful and timely information. Judicial inaction sends a dissuasive message to the press, encouraging self-censorship in the coverage of events involving armed actors or irregular groups. It also erodes state policies and obligations to guarantee justice and protect those who practice journalism, weakening democracy and generating an environment of legal insecurity that encourages the repetition of similar restrictions of the freedom of expression.