Man Found Dead with 16 Bullet Wounds in Yapacaní; Police Suspect Score Settling

Yapacaní, Bolivia – The body of a 28-year-old man, identified as Ademar Ortega Arancibia, was discovered with 16 bullet wounds and signs of torture on the side of the Santa Cruz-Cochabamba highway in Yapacaní. Police authorities are investigating the brutal killing, with initial presumptions pointing towards a settling of scores or personal revenge. Ortega Arancibia, who had been missing since Saturday after leaving Entre Ríos on his motorcycle, was found face down and bound, according to officials. The majority of the bullet impacts were concentrated in his head and various parts of his torso, and he had also lost his right eye, indicating severe physical abuse. Commander Efraín Gutiérrez stated, "He had received approximately 16 bullet impacts in his body, in different regions of the body, that is, the head, the thorax, upper limbs, lower limbs, as well as the loss of the right eyeball, which makes one presume that he was subjected to quite extensive physical abuse throughout these days of disappearance." He added that the extreme violence suggests a possible score-settling or personal vendetta. Authorities from FELCC (Special Force to Fight Crime) of Yapacaní and the assigned prosecutor have initiated a formal investigation. As part of the process, statements have been taken from family members, including the victim's ex-partner, to reconstruct his final hours and determine if there were any prior threats. The family was reportedly notified of the body's discovery by an unknown individual. This crime has caused significant shock not only among the family but also throughout the region, where violence appears to be escalating. The silence of potential witnesses, the method of execution, and the location of the discovery lead investigators to consider the possibility of a more complex organized crime network behind the assassination.