Prosecutor Delmy Guzmán dismissed for obstruction in Suitcases case, Santa Cruz
Prosecutor Delmy Guzmán was dismissed after being accused of obstructing the investigation into 32 suitcases brought into Bolivia. The Public Prosecutor's Office and FELCN raided her home and an office of her deceased brother.
Prosecutor dismissed in Santa Cruz following accusations of obstructing suitcases investigation
Prosecutor Delmy Guzmán was removed from her duties at the Public Prosecutor's Office on Friday, after the Government Minister, Marco Antonio Oviedo, identified her as allegedly halting investigations into the entry of 32 suitcases into Bolivia in November 2025. According to El Deber, the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Jimmy López, confirmed Guzmán's dismissal. Until that point, she had been serving as a matter prosecutor in the municipality of Cotoca.
Oviedo also identified her as part of the close circle of former State Attorney General Róger Mariaca, a central figure in the case.
Role in the initial stage of the case
Guzmán participated in the initial proceedings in the Suitcases case, before the process was transferred to the Specialised Prosecution Office for Controlled Substances. The Government Minister specifically questioned that early intervention, asserting that the official had halted proceedings that the Executive considers key to clarifying the transportation of the luggage.
Raids simultaneous with dismissal
The dismissal occurred on a day when the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Special Force to Combat Drug Trafficking (FELCN) executed operations at properties linked to Guzmán.
One of the raids was carried out at her home, located in the southern area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on Avenida Santos Dumont, between the fifth and sixth ring roads. The prosecutor was not present during the procedure, as she was carrying out duties in Cotoca.
An office in the vicinity of the second ring road and Avenida Beni was also searched. The property was used by Diego R., the prosecutor's deceased brother, who died approximately six months ago. During the operation, investigators seized documentation related to investigations linked to Mariaca.
Matilde R., the prosecutor's mother and the deceased lawyer's mother, questioned the procedure and indicated that the offices belonged to her son. She also defended her daughter and assured that she did not conduct activities in those premises nor had an office in that location.
Guzmán denies having halted investigations
Before her dismissal was announced, Guzmán publicly rejected the minister's accusations. She maintained that all search warrant requests that fell under her responsibility were executed with judicial authorisation.
"All the raids or requests that were made were carried out," she stated. She explained that the orders were requested before the judicial authority and that the proceedings were carried out in January 2026, after receiving an intelligence report about the alleged arrival of firearms in the suitcases.
The prosecutor noted that during those interventions they found no firearms mentioned in the police report. Instead, she indicated that in a warehouse linked to former judge Hebert Zeballos, substances were found that were subsequently identified as controlled, for which reason she called in FELCN personnel and the duty prosecutor.
"I do not give the orders. It is requested from the judicial authority and it is the judicial authority that gives us the order and the resolution to be able to enter a home," she explained. She added that all reports of the proceedings were sent to judicial oversight and that her actions are supported in the investigation file.
Guzmán confirmed the raids on her home and on her deceased brother's office, and assured that she had nothing to hide. "We have no problem collaborating with justice, we hide nothing," she stated. She also revealed that she had received threats related to her work and that she had requested protection measures.
Source: El Deber