The rise and fall of “Maga’s Man” in Latin America.
In the early days of 2025, with Donald Trump back in the White House, the United States has asserted its influence over Latin America with alarming decisiveness. In Venezuela, U.S. forces executed a regime change operation within just two hours by kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro. Meanwhile, U.S.-backed candidates have found success across several countries, including Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.
Except for a few notable exceptions—Cuba, which remains under a stringent embargo; Nicaragua, a target of Marco Rubio’s attention; and Brazil, which faces upcoming elections—most nations now operate under strong U.S. influence. This includes Bolivia, a nation recently shaken by violence that has revealed how the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine,” functions in practice.
On the evening of August 17, lawyer and activist Nadia Shirley Beller Delgado, 33, waited alone outside a hotel in the Canal Isuto neighborhood of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Approached by two men posing as delivery drivers, she was shot three times at close range.
Despite being four weeks pregnant, Beller instinctively dropped to the ground, feigning death, and miraculously survived the attack. Once in the hospital, she underwent extensive surgery and soon after accused her Argentine ex-boyfriend of orchestrating the hit to silence her.
“Maga’s Man in Latin America”
Beller’s ex-boyfriend, Fernando Cerimedo, is a co-owner of La Derecha Diario (“The Right-Wing Daily”), a significant digital publisher of far-right ideologies in Latin America and Spain. He formerly advised Argentine President Javier Milei and currently advises several politicians in the region, including Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz. According to The Economist, he has been labeled “MAGA’s man in LatAm” for his role in fostering connections with Trump’s right-wing movement.
By the morning of August 18, Cerimedo was arrested at Viru Viru Airport while trying to flee to Buenos Aires. Security footage of the assassination attempt gained rapid attention online:
Anoche, la abogada y activista boliviana Nadia Beller fue atacada por 2 sicarios que le pegaron 3 tiros a quemarropa.
Hoy, en el aeropuerto de Viru Viru, detuvieron a su ex pareja @FerCerimedo_ok, sospechado de ser el autor intelectual. pic.twitter.com/eUksT4nMPJ
— Javier Smaldone (@mis2centavos) August 18, 2026
Beller testified that Cerimedo had planned to meet her outside the hotel to share information on former President Evo Morales. Prior to the attack, she had publicly accused him of domestic violence and had documented her experiences with photographs of her injuries and private messages to corroborate her claims.
She accused Cerimedo of corruption in both Bolivia and Argentina and alleged that he had claimed to be a CIA agent, although she lacks concrete proof. From her hospital bed, Beller expressed fear for her life and sought protection from Bolivian authorities, noting that Cerimedo is a close advisor to the government.
Bolivia: The President’s most senior adviser has just been arrested for hiring hitmen to murder his girlfriend (she was shot 3 times in a luxury hotel).
He’s a far-right extremist from Argentina, and has now become the main link between the US govt & the Latin American right. pic.twitter.com/sl7uDQmSgJ
— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) August 18, 2026
After Cerimedo’s arrest, the Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office requested to detain him for at least 180 days. He faces charges of attempted femicide, money laundering, and illicit enrichment, and is currently detained at Palmasola prison, the largest and most notorious detention facility in Bolivia. Given his connections, he may secure one of the prison’s “luxury” accommodations.
So, Who Is Cerimedo?
Before entering the murky world of political consulting, Cerimedo held various roles, from taxi driver to insurance consultant and even high school teacher. In 2016, he was sentenced to two years in prison for selling the same house to multiple buyers. He is also under investigation in Argentina for alleged bribery.
Cerimedo gained prominence in Latin American politics during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. Following Bolsonaro’s election defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in late 2022, he streamed a live event titled “Brazil Was Stolen,” claiming that voting machines were manipulated to favor Lula.
In 2024, Cerimedo became the only foreign national charged by Brazil’s Federal Police in connection with the coup attempt linked to Bolsonaro, who was later sentenced to 22 years in prison. His media outlet, La Derecha Diario, faced allegations of being involved in the coup attempt and was subsequently banned from operating in the country.
Since his initial foray into Bolsonaro’s campaign, Cerimedo has played significant roles in various presidential campaigns across the continent: Javier Milei in Argentina (2023), Nasry Asfura in Honduras (2025), Rodrigo Paz in Bolivia (2025), and José Antonio Kast in Chile. He has also established close ties with leaders like Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.
After winning the presidency in 2025, Rodrigo Paz was so impressed with Cerimedo’s contributions that he offered him a full-time role in his cabinet, creating friction with the popular vice president, Edmand Lara, who accused Cerimedo of wielding more power than elected officials.
“I saw it there. Imagine, Cerimedo participated more in the meetings than the vice president himself, who was democratically elected,” Lara noted. “Fernando Cerimedo managed the editorial lines of some media outlets and oversaw governmental communications externally and internally.”
Additionally, Lara expressed confusion over Cerimedo’s financial arrangements:
“He held a position but was never listed on payroll and we never knew how he was compensated.” (According to Beller, Cerimedo was allegedly paid $800,000 a month from Argentina.)
Others have echoed Lara’s concerns. Jaime Aparicio, a former Bolivian ambassador to the U.S., stated in an interview with The Associated Press that Cerimedo held an “indeterminate role” and exercised power beyond what is typical for a foreign advisor.
The Miami Connection
Cerimedo is also a business partner of Brad Parscale, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager who is now a registered foreign agent for Israel. He is additionally linked to Damian Merlo, a lobbyist with roots in the Miami political scene. Merlo has deep connections to influential figures that include GOP representatives María Elvira Salazar and Mario Díaz-Balart, as well as Mauricio Claver-Carone, a U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America.
Cerimedo established his political consultancy in May 2023 during Milei’s campaign. With Merlo onboard, he gained access to a broader network of connections based in Miami and Washington, including Brad Parscale and various Republican entities.
Max Blumenthal of The Grayzone describes Cerimedo as the “bag man for Trump Inc across Latin America”:
Lurking behind Trump-aligned leaders like Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa, Jair Bolsonaro, and Nayib Bukele are lesser-known but highly influential operatives who greatly shape political trajectories in their countries.
Perhaps the most significant of these figures is Fernando Cerimedo, a top advisor to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, known as MAGA’s man in Latin America.
On August 18, Cerimedo was apprehended and accused of masterminding an attack that nearly took the life of his ex-girlfriend, Nadia Beller, a lawyer who miraculously survived.
From her hospital bed, a desperate Beller publicly implicated Cerimedo, alleging that he contributed to a vast network of CIA assets manipulating Latin American politics for Trump’s benefit, while funneling dark money into the coffers of carefully chosen candidates.
So far, this strategy appears markedly effective. Over the last two years, most presidential elections in Latin America have seen victories for candidates endorsed by Trump. However, these wins have not been entirely forthright. Since the Argentine mid-terms in late 2025, the Trump administration has actively interfered in multiple elections by backing specific candidates and threatening economic repercussions should they fail to secure victory.
Allegations of vote rigging have surfaced in Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, and Colombia as well. Coordinated disinformation campaigns on social media have also played a significant role. In Colombia, former President Gustavo Petro accused the Israeli company Black Cube of orchestrating campaigns using fake accounts. When Bolivian authorities searched Cerimedo’s premises, they discovered a mini bot farm among other items.
Bolivian police have raided the home of known US asset, Fernando Cerimedo.
Along with piles of cash in dollars and euros, they also found devices & servers that functioned as bot farms. Cerimedo was an adviser in charge of US disinfo operations in Latin American elections. pic.twitter.com/ctM2JR0kxq
— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) August 22, 2026
Bot farms can be potent tools in political campaigns, creating a deceptive narrative that amplifies public support for certain messages, candidates, or causes. The recent rise of bot farms across Latin America might explain how candidates like Colombia’s Abelardo De la Espriella emerged from relative obscurity to win presidential races.
Bot farms utilize extensive networks of automated or human-controlled social media accounts to fabricate the illusion of wide-ranging online engagement. These networks may employ false identities to mimic grassroots support while significantly amplifying specific content. According to a blog post from cybersecurity firm F5, AI has drastically heightened the efficacy of these operations:
Where bot farms once required extensive personnel to generate repetitive content, AI tools now create coherent, varied, and credible narratives. As noted in NewsGuard’s 2023 report, AI-driven propaganda is becoming increasingly indistinguishable from real discourse.
This type of content is no longer merely filler; it’s plausible, informed, and reactive—manufactured at an industrial scale to mimic authentic public support.
Social media platforms, incentivized to promote what garners engagement, have inadvertently rewarded this manufactured influence.
Furthermore, the tech company owners often align themselves politically with the agendas being pushed. For instance, Elon Musk has openly supported Javier Milei’s controversial libertarianism, while other influential tech figures like Palantir and Peter Thiel view Latin America as a proving ground for their ideals of deregulation and techno-authoritarianism.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales has labeled Cerimedo as “an agent of the empire,” echoing Beller’s claims about his possible ties to the CIA. Morales has called for a transparent investigation into Cerimedo’s activities.
“With the arrest of Fernando Cerimedo, the Latin American right is wounded,” Morales remarked. “[The current Bolivian government] is in disarray—an accidental president devoid of a solid program, grassroots base, or militant support.”
Under President Paz’s watch, a prolonged 53-day general strike ensued, leading to a “state of exception” and the mobilization of military forces—a striking development given that “Paz” translates to “peace” in Spanish. As the country grapples with worsening economic conditions and public dissatisfaction with both Paz’s leadership and the Cerimedo scandal, the stage is set for renewed protests.
For the Trump administration, Cerimedo’s arrest signifies merely a minor setback. It won’t take long to find a suitable replacement skilled in manipulative tactics. Establishing a new bot farm could be accomplished in mere days. As Blumenthal asserts, “Even with MAGA’s continental point man in custody, the relentless exploitation of resources, electoral manipulation, and erosion of national sovereignty continues unabated.”
The incident surrounding Cerimedo serves as a critical reminder that the U.S.’s resurgent influence in Latin America relies on a shaky foundation of deceit, manipulation, and electoral malpractice. This fragile base could easily crumble, particularly when local populations realize the extent of U.S. and Israeli interests trumping their well-being and sovereignty.
* Otto Reich, a staunch anti-communist, was a key figure in implementing the controversial “Reagan doctrine” in 1980s Central America, which included the devastating conflicts in El Salvador and Nicaragua and the Iran-Contra scandal.
