Fernando Cerimedo: The ‘King of Trolls’ Influencing Elections Across Six Latin American Countries

Original article: Cerimedo ya salpica a seis países: del “rey de los trolls” de la ultraderecha a denuncias electorales y causas judiciales en Latinoamérica

The shadow of far-right operator Fernando Cerimedo, known as the «King of Trolls,» is now having repercussions in 6 Latin American countries including Chile, Bolivia, Honduras, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, where electoral complaints and even judicial cases have arisen to investigate his influence and funding in election campaigns and processes.

The Argentine consultant is currently detained in Bolivia, where the Attorney General’s office has initiated four cases against him for attempted femicide against his ex-partner Nadia Beller, money laundering, domestic violence, and alleged cover-ups for flights linked to drug trafficking.

During a raid of one of Cerimedo’s residences in La Paz, authorities uncovered cash equivalent to $50,000 in Bolivians, dollars, and euros, along with a «mini bot farm» used to generate thousands of social media messages via artificially created accounts, similar to the 50,000 he admitted to operating in Argentina in a May 2023 interview with Infobae, in addition to others used in Chile.

Amid the judicial proceedings, his ex-partner, who was a victim of an attack allegedly carried out by hitmen hired by Cerimedo, has claimed the existence of a digital structure composed of thousands of automated accounts designed to alter narratives and promote extreme right ideas and discourses on social media.

By utilizing artificial accounts, bots, and trolls, along with false information, Cerimedo has built a career advising right-wing and far-right leaders across Latin America.

In Chile, Cerimedo himself declared that he worked on Sebastián Sichel’s candidacy, later supporting Franco Parisi’s presidential campaign. However, he has raised alarms for his involvement in the campaign against a new Constitution.

Through his company Numen Spa, founded in our country by lawyer Enrique José García Arancibia, he was hired in 2020 by the «Casa Común,» a command for Rejection, where he collaborated with Alejandro Irarrázaval, chief of advisors at La Moneda, Felipe Costabal, known as «Yeti,» and Ignacio Dülger, former advisor and ex-regional councilor. His main task was to support the campaigns favoring the Rejection option in both the entry and exit plebiscites.

He received assignments such as developing a dubious methodology poll projecting 42.3% support for the Approve side, which ultimately lost with 78%. He then deployed his artificial accounts, bots, and trolls to disseminate content against the proposed new Constitution drafted by the Constitutional Convention, including false news claims like plans to change the national flag and anthem, and even expropriate vacation homes.

Concerns about Cerimedo’s influence in Chile have also arisen regarding his connections with José Antonio Kast, his circle, and even the latter’s presidential campaign in 2025, leading opposition parliamentarians such as deputy Luis Santana to formally contact Servel and file a complaint with the Public Ministry regarding potential informational crimes to investigate the funding of these bot network operations linked to the Argentine consultant.

His ex-partner, lawyer Nadia Beller confirmed the «proximity» of the Argentine far-right figure with Kast, indicating that after his election, he expressed a desire to attend the presidential inauguration at the National Congress in Valparaíso.

«Obviously, when Kast won, he was happy, celebrating it as a victory and told me that he would go to the inauguration. So, I know that he worked there and that he also worked with some deputies and senators during the Constituent process; I don’t recall their names, but he mentioned them to me at the time,» she stated in an interview with Mostrador.

False Accounts to Influence Colombian Votes

Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro has pointed to the Argentine advisor, alleging he charged «commissions» in exchange for facilitating cocaine routes from Bolivia and claimed that Cerimedo, along with Spanish businessman and journalist Javier Negre, orchestrated a massive electoral manipulation strategy during the last presidential elections in the South American country aimed at the far-right candidacy of Abelardo de la Espriella, which included a network of automated profiles and bots to influence the electorate. He described this operation as «massive coercion» that triggered the most severe electoral fraud in Colombian history.

Connection with Milei’s Government in Argentina

The scandal has resonated strongly in Argentina, where Cerimedo served as one of the political advisors for Javier Milei’s 2023 campaign. Although the so-called «libertarian» has attempted to distance himself from his former collaborator, asserting that their relationship ended that year, records show that he entered the Casa Rosada at least thirteen times between 2023 and 2024.

The controversy has also tainted Milei’s administration due to Beller’s statements, in which she claimed Cerimedo had told her about possible irregularities connected to the presidential entourage and a case of corruption involving bribery in the National Disability Agency (Andis).

Role in the Attempted Coup in Brazil

The case has also reached Brazil, given that Cerimedo had prior records for his actions in the 2022 elections and his ties to the circle of then-president Jair Bolsonaro. Subsequently, in 2024, Brazilian authorities included him among those charged in the attempted coup, for allegedly coordinating with some of Bolsonaro’s main advisors and Brazilian military personnel to attack the electoral system and make false fraud claims in the presidential elections that resulted in Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory.

The issue regained interest following his arrest and the revelation of Cerimedo’s digital structure, with O Globo/UOL reporting that Brazilian authorities are considering requesting information from the Bolivian investigation regarding potential international political and digital interference.

Cerimedo Planned to «Take Down» Claudia Sheinbaum

The case has also made headlines in Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum described the co-founder of the La Derecha Diario portal as “a feminicide in plain terms,” after his ex-partner Nadia Beller reported him for hiring two hitmen to attempt to murder her while she was pregnant.

Beller revealed that Cerimedo had confessed his intention to intervene in the upcoming Mexican elections, as he opposes President Sheinbaum.

«He told me: ‘I will take her down’,» Beller recounted in an interview with Heraldo Televisión.

Who Paid Cerimedo in Honduras?

Former presidential candidate of Liberty and Refoundation (Libre), Rixi Moncada, has demanded that the Public Ministry of Honduras conduct a thorough investigation into the political consultant’s influence on the 2025 elections to clarify: who hired Cerimedo?, who paid for his activities in Honduras?, who did he coordinate with?, what platforms and structures did he use?

She recalled that in Honduras, his name had already appeared politically linked to the National Party, and that before, during, and after the elections, former advisor to the National Electoral Council (CNE), Marlon Ochoa, presented audios where Cerimedo’s voice could be heard, among other evidence revealing a plan for fraud and foreign interference.

Cerimedo’s Influence on Rodrigo Paz’s Government

Although the President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, has attempted to draw a line with Fernando Cerimedo and asserts there was never an official contractual link, a series of photographic records disclosed by Nadia Beller showing them together at a summit organized by former U.S. President Donald Trump contradict his version and reveal that he accompanied him in key meetings and played an active role within his work team.