Right-Wing Latin American Strategist Fernando Cerimedo Arrested for Alleged Attempted Murder
- Fernando Cerimedo, a 45-year-old Argentine right-wing digital strategist known as the "Steve Bannon of Latin America," was arrested in Bolivia on August 18, 2026, and charged with masterminding...
- The August 17 assault outside a hotel in Santa Cruz was captured on security cameras and widely shared on social media platforms.
- Before his arrest, Cerimedo built a lucrative career as a political consultant and co-founder of an ultra-right online outlet, earning labels such as the "Steve Bannon of Latin...
Fernando Cerimedo, a 45-year-old Argentine right-wing digital strategist known as the “Steve Bannon of Latin America,” was arrested in Bolivia on August 18, 2026, and charged with masterminding an attempted murder-for-hire plot against his pregnant mistress. Bolivian prosecutors state that Cerimedo orchestrated the August 17 attack on 33-year-old lawyer and activist Nadia Beller in Santa Cruz to prevent her from exposing his alleged criminal conduct and physical abuse while revealing him as the father of her unborn child.
The Santa Cruz Attack and Immediate Arrest
The August 17 assault outside a hotel in Santa Cruz was captured on security cameras and widely shared on social media platforms. Footage shows two would-be assassins dressed as fast-food deliverymen approaching Beller, where one drew a pistol and shot her point-blank. Beller fell to the ground and feigned death, later surviving the shooting and telling police that Cerimedo had lured her into a trap. The following day at dawn, Bolivian authorities detained Cerimedo at an airport as he prepared to board a flight to Buenos Aires. A judge subsequently ordered him held in a maximum-security prison in preventive detention on an attempted-femicide charge. Cerimedo has denied all wrongdoing.
Rise of the “MAGA Man” Across Latin America
Before his arrest, Cerimedo built a lucrative career as a political consultant and co-founder of an ultra-right online outlet, earning labels such as the “Steve Bannon of Latin America” from political commentators and “MAGA’s Man” from The Economist. His career involved boosting right-wing political campaigns across Argentina, Central America, and Brazil, including working as a main strategist for Argentine President Javier Milei during his 2023 campaign and acting as a personal consultant to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz. Analysts like Chilean journalist Daniel Matamala remarked on Cerimedo’s downfall, stating on a podcast that his arrest shook the ecosystem of fake news, bots, and disinformation in the region. In February, Cerimedo was honored as “Hispanic Political Consultant of the Year” at a right-wing gala held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where he spoke about Latin America’s culture war.
Unraveling a Digital Strategist’s Fanciful Resume
Investigations by Latin American journalists prior to his arrest began unmasking Cerimedo as a creator of exaggerated claims regarding his own background and U.S. connections. Reports revealed that his frequent boasts about attending Harvard, training with U.S. Navy SEALs, and working in the Obama White House were fanciful. Damian Merlo, a Miami-based consultant who worked with Cerimedo on Milei’s 2023 campaign, noted that Cerimedo exaggerated his credentials, stating he could hardly speak English despite selling himself as “MAGA’s man in Latin America.” Beyond the attempted-femicide charge, Bolivian authorities have placed Cerimedo under investigation for alleged illegal enrichment and potential links to cocaine trafficking.