Shooting attack in Concepción leaves two Brazilians seriously injured and one bystander wounded
Two Brazilian citizens were ambushed from a motorcycle on the main avenue of Concepción, Santa Cruz. A bystander was also injured; the attackers remain at large.
More than ten shots fired on the main avenue of Concepción
Three people were injured on Saturday afternoon in the municipality of Concepción, Ñuflo de Chávez province, in the department of Santa Cruz, following an armed attack carried out from a motorcycle. According to El Deber, the attackers reportedly followed two Brazilian nationals for a prolonged period as they travelled in a Nissan Frontier pick-up truck before intercepting them near the statue of General Hugo Banzer Suárez, at the entrance to the town.
"They intercepted them and fired a burst of several shots, more than ten shots. This was not a confrontation," declared Colonel Jorge Santistevan, Secretary of Citizen Security for Santa Cruz, to the local media outlet.
Santistevan clarified that it was not a police operation or a confrontation between two armed parties, but rather a "direct attack". After firing at the pick-up truck, the attackers—whom the official described as "hired killers"—fled on the same motorcycle. As of 22:00 on Saturday, their whereabouts were unknown.
Two seriously injured and a civilian struck by a projectile
The two Brazilian occupants of the pick-up truck were transferred to Concepción hospital with serious injuries. One of them, who was travelling as a passenger, was in a critical condition according to preliminary information handled by the departmental secretary. Both remained alive and were receiving medical attention at the time of the report.
During the gunfire, a bystander circulating through the area was struck by a projectile in the leg and was also treated at the same hospital.
"That is the report: two Brazilians who were attacked, but they are alive and are being treated at Concepción hospital. There is also a civilian citizen, an ordinary bystander, who was wounded in the leg and who is also receiving attention," Santistevan clarified.
Link to organised crime in the border region
Colonel Santistevan linked the incident to the activity of criminal organisations operating in the Chiquitania region, a bordering area that authorities identify as a corridor for drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
"These are people who are linked to organised crime. And in that border region of Chiquitania, the red zone of drug trafficking, they are operating. They also operate under orders from their bosses, most of whom and the most important are in Brazil. They receive orders from Brazil, and there are also others who are in Bolivia," the official stated.
Santistevan mentioned the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) when referring to the criminal structures that would be acting on Bolivian territory, although he clarified that it is still necessary to determine which specific organisation the two injured Brazilians belong to and who constitutes their chain of command. According to the secretary, that identification is a priority for the investigation.
"These two Brazilians who have been attacked and who are still alive are extremely important for the Police to gather information about which criminal group they belong to and who their superiors are," he maintained.
Criminal route crossing through Chiquitania
According to Santistevan's analysis, criminal organisations active in the area use a route that connects San Matías, Concepción, San Ignacio, San Rafael, San Javier and Guarayos, using both land routes and, primarily, aerial corridors for the movement of drugs and arms.
The official indicated that the case should be clarified through the formal identification of the injured, the organisation they could belong to and those responsible for the attack. Santistevan acknowledged that at the time of the report he did not have additional information and that it was up to the Police to officially clarify the circumstances of the incident.
Source: El Deber