Venezuelan woman arrested in connection with 2019 shooting of David Ortiz

María Fernanda Villasmil Manzanilla, 25, of Venezuela was captured by Interpol.

Another arrest has been made in connection with Ortiz's shooting in 2019. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

March 20, 2024

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A Venezuelan woman who was wanted in connection with the 2019 shooting of Red Sox legend David Ortiz has been arrested, according to the Dominican Republic National Police.

María Fernanda Villasmil Manzanilla, 25, of Venezuela was captured by Interpol, per a social media post from Dominican authorities. Manzanilla was actively being pursued with a “red notification” for being connected to the shooting incident, they said.

It’s not immediately clear what charges Manzanilla is facing.

Ortiz, who won three World Series titles with the Red Sox, was shot in the back at close range on June 9, 2019 while sitting at a bar in Santo Domingo.

The Hall-of-Fame designated hitter underwent emergency surgery in the Dominican Republic, with the Red Sox then organizing his transport via air ambulance to Mass General Hospital — where he underwent additional procedures and spent months recovering from his injuries.

Back in August 2019, Ortiz hired former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis to run a team of private investigators to conduct an investigation into the shooting.

Davis and his investigators later reported that Ortiz was shot after local drug lord César “The Abuser” Peralta ordered a hit on him. Davis’ findings contradicted the initial report from Dominican authorities, which said Ortiz’s shooting was a case of mistaken identity — and that the intended target was Ortiz’s friend, Sixto David Fernandez, who was sitting with him at the bar.

In December 2022, 10 men were convicted in connection with Ortiz’s shooting.

Those men already convicted include the shooter, Rolfi Ferreira Cruz, and his getaway man, Eddy Féliz García. Both were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Another defendant, Alberto Miguel Rodríguez Mota, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for paying Cruz, according to the East Santo Domingo prosecutor’s office.