«Irarrázaval, Valenzuela, Costabal, and Fontaine Must Answer»: Kast’s Circle Emerges as Focus of Cerimedo Commission

Original article: “Irarrázaval, Valenzuela, Costabal y Fontaine tienen que responder”: círculo de Kast asoma como foco de la Comisión Cerimedo

«Irarrázaval, Valenzuela, Costabal, and Fontaine Must Answer», stated Deputy Daniel Manouchehri (PS), highlighting that President José Antonio Kast’s inner circle appears as the central focus of the Cerimedo Commission, which is set to investigate the influence of a network of bots, trolls, and misinformation linked to the political operator of the far-right, Fernando Cerimedo.

This initiative, driven by Deputy José Montalva (PPD), will be established once the legislative recess for the National Holidays concludes, in order to clarify the extent of actions taken in Chile by the Argentinian political consultant known in the Latin American political arena as «the king of trolls», who was arrested in Bolivia on August 18, facing four charges including attempted femicide against his ex-partner Nadia Beller; money laundering; domestic violence; and alleged connections to drug trafficking flights.

Since then, his name has remained at the center of public attention due to his ties with Chile and right-wing sectors, including officials from the current Kast government.

Cerimedo actively participated in the campaign against the proposal for a new Constitution drafted by the Constitutional Convention. Through the company Numen Spa, founded in Chile by his partner, lawyer Enrique José García Arancibia, he was hired in 2020 by the so-called «Casa Común,» a campaign against the new Constitution, where he collaborated with the current director of the Communications Secretariat (Secom), Felipe Costabal, and Alejandro Irarrázaval, head of advisors at La Moneda.

Questions about his connections with the current government were reinforced by statements from Beller, who told Radio Biobío that the Argentinian advisor boasted openly about his role in Kast’s presidential campaign.

«I am absolutely certain that he worked with Kast’s team, as it was one of the things he loved to brag about: that he had made a new president,» Beller claimed, directly linking the consultant to the president.

Cerimedo Commission Must Summon Kast’s Circle

In light of this information, the opposition decided to pursue two parallel avenues to clarify Cerimedo’s ties with Kast’s circle: one through a congressional oversight committee and the other through a criminal investigation led by Deputy Juan Santana (PS).

«Investigation committees evaluate actions of public institutions, acts of the Chilean state institutions, and in situations like this, where there is currently no legislation to regulate the use of digital robots or artificial intelligence tools on the internet, it is not easy to identify administrative or legal violations when these tools are used,” the socialist deputy noted.

For his part, Deputy José Montalva stated, «The criminal investigation and the committee have completely different objectives«.

«The Public Prosecution must determine whether there were any crimes and legal responsibilities; whereas, we want to clarify who is behind these digital manipulation operations, examine how they are financed, review how the institutions acted; determine potential political responsibilities; and what tools the state lacks to protect our democracy,» he explained in statements reported by La Tercera.

«A criminal investigation should never mean the Congress renouncing its duty to oversee and find ways to strengthen institutions. That’s what special investigative committees are for,» emphasized the legislator.

Deputy Santana indicated that he would ask the chair of the Cerimedo Commission to summon Alejandro Irarrázaval, who is head of the Second Floor advisory team for President Kast and a very close person to the current president.

«Additionally, Mr. Felipe Costabal, who is the director of the Secom, in charge of the General Secretariat of Government, should also be called, as both knew Fernando Cerimedo during the campaign against the new Constitution,» he said, according to the outlet cited.

In the opinion of the parliamentarian, «it is important to hear from the institutions that had responsibilities regarding these events: Servel, security agencies, cybersecurity, police, and the respective authorities.»

Along the same lines, Deputy Montalva suggested that it is crucial for those currently holding government positions to clarify «certain facts that cannot be prejudged but are relevant to this investigation,» referring to advisors from Kast’s close inner circle, including Irarrázaval and Costabal.

«Irarrázaval, Valenzuela, Costabal, and Fontaine Must Answer«

Deputy Daniel Manouchehri (PS), who has insisted on the necessity for La Moneda to transparent the links of the far-right operator with political campaigns in Chile, as well as with President Kast, stated that the list of those called to the Cerimedo Commission must also include Cristián Valenzuela, strategic advisor and head of content at La Moneda, and Codelco’s president, Bernardo Fontaine, because the Foundation Citizens in Action (FCEA), of which he is a founder, received over $1.9 billion in anonymous donations and income from abroad.

According to a report by Reportea, «the largest contributions were recorded in 2022 and 2024, periods in which the FCEA launched campaigns on social media to support the Rechazo option in the constitutional plebiscite, and against the pension reform pushed by Gabriel Boric’s government.»

Moreover, the foundation founded by Fontaine included participation from the «influencer» Matías Lorca, who, according to Reportea, was «one of the trolls spreading lies on social media during the recent presidential campaign.»

«Chile deserves the truth. We want to know who was behind campaigns of misinformation, defamation, and intimidation. Irarrázaval, Valenzuela, Costabal, and Fontaine must answer,» stated Manouchehri.