Bolivian Journalists Abducted and Tortured in 2021 Remain Without Justice

November 05, 2025 – Bolivia – 

Six journalists from Bolivia suffered a brutal abduction and beatings on October 28, 2021, while covering a land-rights dispute in the department of Santa Cruz. The group included reporter Percy Suárez and five colleagues, travelling to the Las Londras ranch when they were ambushed by masked gunmen—truck tyres were shot out, cameras seized, and the journalists forced to lie face down under threat of death.
Despite the extreme violence captured on video by Suárez himself, prosecutions have faltered. Four years on, the case remains stalled in the courts: hearing after hearing passes with no verdict or accountability for the perpetrators. Suárez described the footage as the only “weapon” left in his hope for justice.
Legal representatives say the attack involved pro-government rural actors known as “interculturals,” and possibly elements linked to local elites whose territories were being probed by the journalists. Many of the files, documents, and footage that bore witness to the assault are now central to the case, but investigators have failed to identify or charge public officials or others who allegedly coordinated the violence.
Media-freedom groups argue that this impunity has broader implications. In Bolivia, where journalists exposing local power networks already face heavy risks, the failure to punish attacks sends a clear warning: probe sensitive stories at your peril. The case underlines the fragile position of reporters in rural zones where state, corporate, and private interests intertwine.
The journalists, still sharing PTSD and physical scars months later, now press the incoming government of President Rodrigo Paz to make good on promises of reform. They call for unrestricted access to evidence, witness protection, and a fast-track to trial. Until then, they say their assailants roam free.
The 2021 Las Londras incident remains one of the most high-profile examples of violence against the press in Bolivia. Its legacy may shape how the country addresses journalist safety and investigations for years to come, but for now, the story is painfully unfinished.

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Six Bolivian journalists were kidnapped and tortured. Four years later, they still await justice