Arrest of Argentine Disinformation Operative Highlights Ties to Latin American Far-Right Networks

On August 18, Fernando Cerimedo was arrested at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and placed in pre-trial detention for 180 days after being charged with attempting to murder his former partner, Bolivian attorney Nadia Beller, who was pregnant with his child. Video evidence shows assailants disguised as couriers opening fire on Beller at point-blank range before fleeing. In addition to the homicide charge, investigators are probing Cerimedo for illicit enrichment tied to drug trafficking and for colluding with Lieutenant Colonel Erik Correa González of Bolivia’s Special Anti-Narcotics Force to plan the attack.

Cerimedo is described as a central architect of disinformation strategies that have supported far-right politicians such as Brazil’s Bolsonaro allies, Argentina’s Javier Milei, Chile’s José Antonio Kast, Peru’s Keiko Fujimori, Honduras’s Nasry Asfura and Colombia’s Abelardo de la Espriella, using bot farms, AI manipulation and a media platform, La Derecha Diario, with editions across Latin America and the United States.

The platform was reportedly launched with the help of convicted falsifier Javier Negre and financed through digital wallets holding roughly $132.8 million. His arrest could expose the digital infrastructure that has underpinned recent right-wing electoral successes in the region.