The lawyer of Yarinel Martínez Maqueira, the Cuban involved in the murder of three people in La Paz, Bolivia, to steal the money they intended to change into dollars, stated that his client was hired to provide protection during the transfer of cash and that a ballistics test will determine who the actual perpetrator of the crime was.
In recent statements to the local press, Mónica Irusta stated that Martínez would have participated as security, with the aim of safeguarding the 700,000 bolivianos that the victims were supposed to pay for the acquisition of 100,000 dollars that the accused were allegedly selling to them in the case.
According to Irusta, the Cuban had been promised a payment of 10,000 bolivianos for that work.
"We are not asking for the simple freedom of my client, but a differentiation must be made regarding the degree of participation in this regrettable event," he pointed out.
Martínez was arrested last Tuesday, along with Bolivians Omar and Norman Copaja Chuquimia and Jorge Catalán Osinaga, for their alleged involvement in the shooting murder of three young men on Saturday, August 24, when they were heading to the Los Yungas area, where they took their victims under the false promise of conducting the monetary transaction "at an affordable price," according to the authorities' report.
The suspects killed Verónica Aguirre, 34 years old; Domingo Santos Mamani, 33; and José Luis Vargas, 27, with a firearm; a crime characterized by Bolivian authorities as an execution.
According to the police report, the three victims had gunshot wounds to the head, "from the nape of the neck to the front," reported Bolivia's Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, at a press conference on Tuesday.
"They have been executed," affirmed the high-ranking official, who added that the three also had injuries in the neck area caused by a sharp object after their death.
Del Castillo then pointed out that the four arrested are responsible for the three deaths and face charges of murder, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
In a hearing held on August 28, the court determined that all the defendants would be sent preventively to Chonchocoro, the maximum security prison in Bolivia.
However, the legal representative of the Cuban argued that the degrees of participation in the crime should be differentiated, which she said was objected to during the hearing.
"We cannot lump them all together because it is incoherent for four citizens to fire the weapon. Therefore, there must have been a person who is the main author, who fired that weapon," he claimed. "That will be known soon; I estimate in a month, because the glove test has been carried out on the four citizens."
The lawyer stated that they are still analyzing what the charge will be against the Cuban. "That will be determined by the key evidence, which is the glove evidence," she emphasized.
According to the police report, the victims of the brutal crime were convinced to purchase dollars by Omar Copaja Chuquimia, whom the Bolivian press identifies as a childhood friend of Domingo Santos Mamani, although the authorities had initially described them as relatives.
Copaja offered the currency to Mamani at an accessible price of 7.10 or 7.50 bolivianos per dollar, according to the different versions that have emerged about the events. This amount is very close to the official exchange rate (1 dollar = 6.96 bolivianos), as currently street vendors are offering the US dollar for more than 11 bolivianos.
To carry out the transaction, they persuaded the three young men to travel from El Alto to Los Yungas, where another person would be waiting for them with the dollars.
Given the connection between the two men, the victims did not suspect anything and boarded a minibus rented by Copaja, which would take them to the location. The other three suspects were also in the vehicle.
During the journey to Los Yungas, the accused convinced the young people to stop in order to "bless" the money they were going to change, although it is presumed that their intention was to verify the amount they were carrying. Subsequently, they continued their trip to the town of Unduavi and, in an area known as "Tres Marías," they shot them to death to rob them.
The bodies were found on Monday by a farmer, in a wooden and galvanized iron shed.
After the preliminary investigations, the police arrested the four suspects on August 27 and carried out a search of two properties.
Martínez was arrested in a construction house he was guarding in the Ciudad Satélite area of El Alto. In that home, the agents found the 9-millimeter firearm that was used to murder the victims, as well as 7.62 mm caliber bullets, which are used as ammunition for large-caliber weapons.
The police also found a backpack there with 2,800,000 bolivianos that were stolen from the three victims, the authorities reported.
According to the director of the Special Forces Against Crime (FELCC) of La Paz, René Tambo, the murderers planned the crime about two weeks in advance.
"Each of those involved had already been assigned their 'task', they had scouted the route and determined their actions," a report from the newspaper Opinión assured. "They had no dollars; their intention was to steal their money and end their lives."
The brutal crime has caused great shock and outrage in Bolivia. The investigations into the case continue, and it is expected that, within six months, the Prosecutor's Office will present an indictment and the defendants will be brought to trial before a court.
The Cuban Yarinel Martínez Maqueira is originally from Nueva Gerona, Isle of Youth, acquired permanent residency in Bolivia in 2023, and has a five-year-old son born in the South American country.
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