From Mar-A-Lago awardee to Bolivian jail: The dark, controversial past of political consultant Fernando Cerimedo

Fernando Cerimedo, a political consultant with ties to figures like Javier Milei and Donald Trump's former advisor Brad Parscale, is now imprisoned in Bolivia facing attempted murder charges. His partner, political leader Nadia Beller, accused him of corruption and attempting to silence her after she survived a shooting in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Beller, hospitalized and wounded, revealed in interviews that Cerimedo spoke of "corruption" in Argentina, claimed to work for the CIA, and conducted illegal businesses in Bolivia paid in cash dollars. Police arrested Cerimedo at the Santa Cruz airport as he was attempting to board a flight to Argentina.

Cerimedo, who had been a key advisor to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, was reportedly gaining influence and money, cultivating ties with security forces, military, and intelligence agents. His past work includes advising Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Nasry Asfura in Honduras. He is a partner in Latin America with Brad Parscale, using technology from companies like Campaign Nucleus and Eyes Over, which emerged from the Cambridge Analytica merger.

Cerimedo himself has acknowledged his association with Parscale and boasted about using their methods in regional political campaigns. His name has appeared in investigations by The New York Times, and The Economist identified him as a MAGA consultant in Latin America. He received an award from a U.S. right-wing organization at a celebration hosted at Trump's Mar-A-Lago in Florida earlier this year. Now, he is reportedly held in a Bolivian prison cell.