​Americas Desk, Sep 2 (EFE).- The arrest and investigation into Argentine political consultant Fernando Cerimedo for the attempted femicide of his ex-partner, Bolivian lawyer and political operative Nadia Beller, have raised questions about his ties to right-wing election campaigns and governments in several Latin American countries. ​Cerimedo remains in pretrial detention in Bolivia, where he also faces other charges related to alleged illicit enrichment and family and domestic violence. ​Argentine presidential campaign ​Cerimedo was part of President Javier Milei’s communications strategy during the 2023 presidential campaign. ​Last week, Argentine presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier stated Milei has had no relationship with Cerimedo since 2023, but acknowledged he held meetings at the Casa Rosada during the first half of 2024. ​Access logs show at least 13 visits, several authorized by officials close to the president and some to the General Secretariat of the Presidency, headed by the president’s sister, Karina Milei. ​Ravier assured that those meetings were not with Milei and noted that they ended with Cerimedo’s departure from the government. ​Close ties to Bolivian presidency ​In Bolivia, where judicial investigations against the consultant are concentrated, questions have also arisen regarding his relationship with the government of President Rodrigo Paz. ​Last week, the president acknowledged that Cerimedo collaborated on his campaign for the 2025 presidential runoff and at the start of his administration, but asserted that Cerimedo was never authorized to represent the government or his family and that there was no contract or direct working relationship. ​Cerimedo admitted to being friends with Paz and maintained that his work was “collaborative,” without having been a government official or having had any influence over the government or its ministers. ​However, opposition figures such as former President Evo Morales (2006–2019) and Vice President Edmand Lara have claimed that he was the president’s personal advisor. ​On Tuesday, Lara filed a criminal complaint against First Lady María Elena Urquidi and Cerimedo for influence peddling and abuse of influence, based on an unverified audio recording in which the two allegedly discuss possible changes in government officials. ​The authenticity of the recording was questioned by Beller, who claimed that the voices do not belong to Cerimedo or Urquidi. ​Parliamentary investigation in Chile ​The Chilean Congress approved the formation of an investigative commission to clarify possible connections between Cerimedo and President José Antonio Kast’s inner circle regarding the use of bots in political campaigns. ​The commission will have sixty days to prepare a report on the awareness, detection, and use of bots or other digital manipulation tools since 2020. ​The allegations against Kast’s inner circle and his teams regarding the use of bots are not new. In 2025, during the presidential campaign, a group of lawmakers filed a complaint regarding alleged coordinated disinformation networks. ​Cerimedo’s arrest also coincided with the discovery of a “mini bot farm” during raids on properties occupied by the consultant in Bolivia. ​Questions in Peru ​In Peru, the fallout from the case led President Keiko Fujimori to publicly deny any connection to the Argentine consultant. Fujimori stated that she has never had a personal or professional relationship with Cerimedo, and asserted that she never communicated with him. She also denied knowing the consultant, adding she was unaware of the reason for his presence in Lima. ​The statement came after it was revealed that Cerimedo traveled to Lima on July 27 and remained in the capital until July 28, the day Fujimori was sworn in as president. ​The newspaper La República also reported statements by Beller, who claimed that Cerimedo held meetings with a woman on Fujimori’s campaign team and that the connection with that circle had begun in 2025. ​Name surfaces in Brazilian investigation ​Cerimedo’s activities have also had repercussions in Brazil. ​In Nov. 2024, the Supreme Court lifted the confidentiality order on an investigation into an alleged plot to prevent the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in which the Argentine consultant was mentioned for spreading false news about the 2022 Brazilian elections. At the time, Cerimedo denied any connection to the plot. He told EFE that his inclusion in the investigation was due to his social media posts about alleged irregularities in those elections. EFE ame-lnm/mcd