Chile prosecutor opens probe into alleged election operations by Fernando Cerimedo

Chile’s Metropolitan North Central Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case to determine whether Argentine political adviser Fernando Cerimedo intervened in Chilean electoral processes through a coordinated network of social-media accounts and bots.

Regional prosecutor Francisco Jacir ordered the investigation in a resolution issued Thursday. The case was assigned to the Santiago Centro Local Prosecutor’s Office, led by prosecutor Macarena Cañas, according to Chilean media reports.

The investigation began after Socialist lawmaker Juan Santana Castillo filed a complaint asking prosecutors to examine Cerimedo’s activities in Chile, determine whether they could constitute crimes and identify any possible responsibilities. The complaint raises suspicions about coordinated accounts that may have sought to influence Chile’s political debate.

Santana included information concerning Numen, a company linked to Cerimedo’s circle, and referred to its participation in Chile’s 2020 constitutional plebiscite. He also cited the later creation of Numen SpA in Chile. The complaint says lawyer Enrique García established the company. García has appeared publicly with Cerimedo and Argentine politician Franco Parisi, and also served on the Technical Admissibility Committee during Chile’s second constitutional process.

Prosecutors are also examining several X accounts that, according to the complaint, may have operated together to attack or promote content involving particular political figures. One is the account identified as Neuroc. Journalistic material included in the complaint says the person behind the account may have acknowledged contact with a social-media manager linked to the presidential campaign of José Antonio Kast.

The complaint stresses that prosecutors must verify the truth, scope and possible criminal relevance of the information. The investigation does not establish that crimes occurred. It was opened to determine whether the reported conduct has criminal significance. Cerimedo is currently detained at Palmasola prison in Bolivia, where he faces an investigation into an armed attack against his former partner and another case involving alleged illicit enrichment.