Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday distanced himself from his now former Argentine political adviser Fernando Cerimedo, who is facing two fresh investigations by prosecutors into allegations of money-laundering and alleged protection of drug traffickers.
Cerimedo, who previously worked with President Javier Milei, was arrested in Bolivia last week as a suspect in the "attempted femicide" of his former partner, lawyer Nadia Beller, who survived being shot three times outside a hotel in Santa Cruz de Sierra.
Speaking later from her hospital bed, Beller later accused him of planning the attack to prevent her from reporting alleged corruption.
Beller was due to give evidence this week but the hearing was adjourned in order to ensure greater protection was in place.
Bolivian police have identified two men suspected of carrying out the attack and attempting to locate them.
Cerimedo, 45, is known across Latin America for his role as a campaign consultant for a host of right-wing leaders including Milei in Argentina, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Nasry Asfura in Honduras and Paz in Bolivia.
He is currently being held at Palmasola Prison after being remanded in custody for six months.
"There was never a contract ... there was never a direct working relationship" between Cerimedo and the Presidency, Paz claimed in a televised address on Wednesday.
"He was never authorised to represent" the president, "the government or my family," he added.
Paz, who took office in November 2025, acknowledged that Cerimedo had helped him during his successful election campaign and at the start of his administration, but said he had been unable to establish "a solid working arrangement" with him because of his international commitments.
Bolivia’s government said last week that the Argentine was a personal adviser to the president, but not a state official.
A sector of Bolivia's opposition this week called on the Organisation of American States (OAS) to form a special committee to investigate the scandal independently, without the government's potential interference.
Beller, for her part, says Paz had allowed the creation of an elite police unit under Crimedo's command and signed off on irregular payments to lawmakers to ensure the passage of key legislation.
Speaking on Tuesday’s, Milei’s presidential spokesperson said that Argentina’s government “has had no connection with Cerimedo since 2023,” the official said at a press conference.
“There were some meetings during the first half of 2024, but they were not with the President,” said Spokesperson Adrián Ravier immediately afterwards.
He called on the Bolivian justice system to “do its work so that we can find out what happened.”
Corruption claims
Beller claims she has been a "witness" to alleged corruption involving the Paz government and the family of First Lady María Elena Urquidi, issues in which she said Cerimedo had acted as an intermediary.
"I have a record of public service, with a wife who has been beyond reproach ... a scandal is not proof," Paz said Wednesday, shooting down those claims.
Deputy Transparency Minister Yamil García said on Wednesday that, following Beller's allegations, prosecutors had opened an investigation into the Argentine for the "possible crime of legitimising illicit gains” – i.e. money-laundering.
The senior official said a prosecutor would determine "who may or may not have been involved" in the alleged offences, when asked by reporters about the first lady's situation.
Meanwhile, a prosecutor in the Amazonian department of Beni also cited an allegation made by Beller in opening a separate investigation into Cerimedo over "certain protection that would allegedly be provided" for "irregular flights" by aircraft transporting drugs in the region.
During a search of the consultant's home last week, prosecutors found the equivalent of about US$43,000 in cash and an alleged "bot farm" used to operate anonymous social media accounts.
Midweek it emerged that Cerimedo is facing legal trouble in Brazil after an online influencer and YouTube star filed a civil claim against him for alleged slander and defamation, following a series of accusations made by the Argentine on social media during the 2022 elections in Brazil.
The Brazilian courts sent a letter to Argentina requesting that Cerimedo be formally notified of the lawsuit, as he is named as a defendant and has his professional address registered in Buenos Aires. The communication was forwarded via the Brazilian Justice Ministry, with Argentina’s Foreign Ministry serving as a go-between.
– TIMES/AFP/NA/PERFIL
