This scandal is arguably the most significant confrontation between the US and Latin America since the capture of Maduro in January.
The situation in Latin America has escalated, particularly in Bolivia, where what has been dubbed Operation Condor 2.0 is in full swing.
On Wednesday, September 30, Bolivia’s Attorney General, Roger Mariaca, was reportedly kidnapped by security forces in Santa Cruz, lacking any judicial order or due process. This information was confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, based in Sucre, the constitutional capital, which has fallen under the control of armed, masked police officers.
An official of the Prosecutor’s Office spoke out during a live broadcast, calling for attention to the “kidnapping” of Mariaca. Local media sources indicated that he had been detained at Viru Viru International Airport, purportedly due to US government claims linking him to drug trafficking and corruption, although no evidence has been presented. In the video below, you can spot two of the masked agents occupying the Prosecutor’s Office (shown at 17 seconds).
“Queremos denunciar el secuestro de nuestro fiscal general del Estado”
El ministerio público de Bolivia mostró cómo la policía del país detuvo al fiscal Roger Mariaca, quien investiga a Fernando Cerimedo por intento de femicidio contra Nadia Beller. pic.twitter.com/RpmRHvD26t
— Corta (@somoscorta) October 1, 2026
What is particularly alarming and largely ignored by Western media is that Mariaca was engaged in investigations concerning associates linked to Trump, who are accused of corruption, violence, and drug trafficking. Central to these allegations is Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo, facing serious charges including drug trafficking and attempted murder for allegedly ordering a hit on his former girlfriend, Nadia Beller.
As reported by Wyatt Reed , Cerimedo arranged to eliminate Beller “after she learned he was profiting from cover-ups involving numerous flights of cartel-linked planes transporting cocaine from Bolivia’s Beni province”:
When he realized she might turn him in, Cerimedo messaged Bolivia’s anti-drug intelligence chief to inform him that his mistress had “sold us out.”
“Either we eliminate her or we’re all fucked. Do you know anyone who can do the job?”
Two minutes after the hit was carried out, Paz’s intelligence chief texted Cerimedo: “Brother, they just shot her.”
“MAGA’s Man in Latin America”
A brief background: Cerimedo co-owns La Derecha Diario (“The Right-Wing Daily”), a prominent outlet for right-wing narratives in both Latin America and Spain. He has served as a political consultant for many far-right leaders including Javier Milei in Argentina, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Nasry Asfura in Honduras, and Rodrigo Paz in Bolivia.
Additionally, he has closely collaborated with the Trump administration. The Economist was the first to label Cerimedo as “MAGA’s man in LatAm” for facilitating connections between Trump’s right-wing movement and aligned politicians in the region, a nickname that seems to have persisted.
In February, Cerimedo was named the 2025 Best Hispanic Political Consultant during an event held at Mar-a-Lago, where he received the accolade from Eduardo Bolsonaro Jr., son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and was photographed alongside Donald Trump Jr.
Cerimedo’s business connections extended to Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, now a registered foreign agent for Israel with significant contracts there. As noted by the New York Times in 2025, their Buenos Aires-based consultancy, Numen, supported political and social media campaigns for numerous Trump allies in the region (emphasis my own):
The two men have been partners for a couple of years in a political consultancy based in Buenos Aires called Numen.
The firm advised the campaigns of Trump allies, including President Javier Milei of Argentina, for whom Numen worked in 2023, according to a Justice Department filing, as well as this year’s successful campaign of President Rodrigo Paz of Bolivia.
Parscale collaborated in the Bolivian elections and traveled to the region during the campaign. He helped Numen’s team on the ground use data tools developed by their companies.
Parscale did not travel to the region during the Honduran elections, but advised Numen’s team on how to use the data to target voters, according to Cerimedo, who became a leading figure in Asfura’s campaign.
“Brad put all the infrastructure in place that I work with,” Cerimedo said in a text message. Parscale argued that Campaign Nucleus and EyesOver’s tools helped their clients in Bolivia and Honduras.
When Trump-backed Rodrigo Paz assumed the presidency in November 2025, Cerimedo was granted a significant, albeit unofficial, advisory position in his cabinet. According to Bolivia’s Vice President, Edmand Lara, who previously served as a police officer and is currently at odds with President Paz, Cerimedo had an office closely positioned to the president’s, attended cabinet meetings, wrote Paz’s speeches, and guided ministers on their roles and messages.
“Ministers had to speak with Cerimedo before speaking with the president. Cerimedo was the bridge,” Lara stated.
Following the assassination attempt on Beller, Cerimedo was arrested while attempting to flee to Buenos Aires and is now held at Palmasola prison, Bolivia’s largest and most perilous detention facility.
Since that event, Beller has accused Cerimedo of corruption in both Bolivia and Argentina, being involved in drug trafficking, operating a scheme for inflated fuel distribution, managing an elite police unit that answered directly to him, and financing legislators to secure votes on various bills.
The Empire Strikes Back
Cerimedo is currently facing investigations on four charges, including attempted femicide, money laundering, and illicit enrichment. The situation intensified recently when Bolivia’s vice president, Edmand Lara, revealed an audio recording that appears to substantiate Beller’s claims regarding Cerimedo’s involvement in cocaine trafficking.
In the recording, an individual believed to be Cerimedo demands $15,000 for each drug plane that departs from regional airports. At one point, he mentions needing to discuss arrangements with Colonel Cabrera, a former head of the FELCN, the anti-narcotics agency. This is the same colonel who recently met with the DEA in the US to align strategies against drug trafficking as part of Trump’s Shield of the Americas initiative.
Following the release of this recording, Attorney General Roger Mariaca’s name appeared on a US State Department list identifying high-ranking officials in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, whose US visas had been revoked on allegations of being “corrupt” and “undermining democratically elected governments.” Notably, Cabrera is also included on that list.
Mariaca responded to the accusation by denouncing the White House’s assertions and demanding respect for Bolivia’s sovereignty. He emphasized his commitment to pursuing the investigation into Cerimedo, regardless of the implications. The Prosecutor asserted that US authorities wouldn’t impede the exposure of the entire truth surrounding the cybercriminal who collaborated with Trump and Netanyahu — referring to Cerimedo.
In a provocative move, Beller escalated the situation by sharing a photo of Cerimedo alongside Donald Trump Jr. on her Facebook page. The image also included two of Cerimedo’s associates, Brad Parscale and Andy Rivas, as well as Dick Morris, a former advisor to Clinton, who has recently been linked to an Argentine campaign finance scandal related to Fred Machado, a businessman later arrested for drug trafficking in the US.
Beller also told the Mexican news outlet Sin Embargo that Cerimedo had established a network of political relationships drawing him close to US institutions like the State Department, CIA, and DEA, claiming she possesses images of him with CIA Director Mark Radcliffe.
Recordemos que todo esto ocurre tras hacerse públicos los audios que involucran a Cerimedo con el narco y al coronel Cabrera que trabajaba con la DEA, además de la publicación de fotos de Cerimedo con el hijo de Trump.https://t.co/bfbjkmDh4f
— Julián Macías Tovar (@JulianMaciasT) October 1, 2026
The day after, Mariaca was taken at Viru Viru airport, and several public prosecutor offices were seized by masked agents. The Bolivian government justified these actions by alleging that Mariaca was running a “narco-structure” within the Prosecutor’s Office meant to shield organized crime figures, a claim purportedly supported by a conveniently timed tip from Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset, who was extradited to the US in March.
Could this accusation hold any truth? It’s possible. However, the timing of the revelation, coinciding with Mariaca’s fruitful investigation into Cerimedo, seems more than coincidental. Significantly, the US government had issued a warning that Mariaca’s actions “jeopardize President Trump’s efforts to combat narco-terrorism, while also undermining the very democratic institutions that Bolivia aims to strengthen as a participant in the Shield program.”
Much of the terminology used is puzzling (e.g., combating narco-terrorism, strengthening democratic institutions), but the core message is clear: “jeopardize President Trump’s efforts.”
In the hours following Mariaca’s abduction, rumors spread that he had been detained by the DEA and transported to Lima, from where he would be sent to the US. When asked about the alleged involvement of the DEA, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo indicated on Thursday that Mariaca’s arrest occurred with the “cooperation of the U.S. government” in the “fight against terrorism.”
“This specific operation was carried out by the Bolivian Police; however, I must express my gratitude for the assistance and cooperation from the U.S. government and other agencies in our efforts against narcoterrorism.”
“The crime [the suspects] committed within the Prosecutor’s Office has been continuous and ongoing. This was a criminal organization that protected, participated in, and profited from the trafficking of controlled substances.”
Minutes later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued the following statement on Twitter:
The Trump Administration stands firmly with President @Rodrigo_PazP and Bolivia’s democratically elected government as it takes bold and decisive actions to combat narco-trafficking, systemic corruption, and transnational organized crime in Bolivia.
Last week, at the historic…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) October 1, 2026
The remainder of his statement:
“Last week, at the historic Shield of the Americas leaders meeting, the U.S. explicitly reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to safeguarding democratic governance and security in our region against the destabilizing influence of armed narco-terrorist networks.”
“Bolivia’s actions demonstrate the kind of leadership necessary to make our hemisphere safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”
Ultimately, the truth is that Bolivia’s security forces executed “bold and decisive actions” against the Attorney General due to his investigation into “MAGA’s man” in Latin America concerning various crimes, including election interference on behalf of the US and Israel, attempted murder, and cocaine trafficking, possibly in collaboration with the DEA and even involving the son of the US president.
In essence, Mariaca posed a threat to the Trump administration’s network of far-right political operatives and election manipulators. His inquiries were revealing links between this network and drug organizations in Bolivia. Therefore, action against Mariaca became imperative. As the Mexican political analyst Cristian Nader noted, the US response was “entirely cynical yet perfectly logical.”
Another contributing factor to the US’s strong discontent with the Bolivian Attorney General’s pursuit of their associate, points out Camila Lourdes Galarza, is that “bribing attorney generals to conduct political lawfare campaigns against the left is their primary strategy. From Lavo Jato to Diana Salazar framing Revolución Ciudadana for Villavicencio’s murder, to the DEA targeting Evo, infiltrating the judiciary system has become essential in turning a nation into a U.S. client state.”
Regrettably, none of these crucial details of the situation were acknowledged by the reports from Reuters, CBS, or El País. Reuters didn’t even mention Cerimedo’s name, stating only that “Mariaca denied the accusations, claiming the US decision was politically motivated and linked to the investigations he managed.” CBS entirely omitted the investigation into Cerimedo, while El País referenced it but offered no further details.
One could explore the coverage of other Western mainstream media outlets, but it would likely offer little more than the same: repeating the narrative that supports the interests of US imperialism. This is why Vladimir Putin remarked to Tucker Carlson that it’s challenging for Russia to compete with the US in the realm of propaganda.
“In the war of propaganda, it is tough to outmatch the United States because it controls the world’s media as well as many European outlets,” Putin stated, adding, “The ultimate beneficiaries of the largest European media outlets are American financial institutions.”
Caitlin Johnstone agrees, observing that “the US empire boasts the most sophisticated and efficient propaganda machine that has ever existed, operating with such complexity that most people are unaware of its existence.”
Much of this propaganda has allowed the US to sustain a failed 53-year “war” on drugs that has led to catastrophe for those involved—except for certain parties, including the CIA, DEA, Wall Street, the US military, the prison industrial complex, and their global allies in drug trafficking.
This “war” is now actively intensifying, as the US uses it as a cover for political, economic, and military interventions in any country on the American continent that poses even a minor challenge to Washington’s hegemony. Following the recent events in Ecuador and Bolivia, we can expect more purges of political opponents in US-supported nations, yet Washington continues to be portrayed as the benevolent protector in Western media narratives.
After arresting the country’s attorney general, the spokesman for Bolivian President @Rodrigo_PazP thanked @SecRubio for his public support and promises that “this has only just begun.”
Are political persecutions disguised as anti-drug trafficking operations on the horizon? https://t.co/iMgA9ucK9m
— José Luis Granados Ceja (@GranadosCeja) October 1, 2026
Moreover, as NC reader Tom Dority pointed out months ago, this is not merely a ‘fight against’ ‘narco-terrorists’; it is a struggle for control over the drug trade. Fernando Cerimedo seemingly agrees, having reportedly stated, “Narcotrafficking should not be combated but administered.”
Cerimedo appears confident he will soon be freed from jail and is already plotting retaliation against those he believes have wronged him, possibly including his ex-girlfriend, Nadia Beller. His new lawyer in Argentina, Yamil Castro Bianchi, has indicated that:
“There are expectations that in November Cerimedo will regain his freedom. Many individuals betrayed Fernando, and December will be a complicated month; more than one [of those traitors] will need to buy diapers.”
Welcome to the new era of US imperialism, which appears not so different from those that came before.
