On the evening of Wednesday, September 30, Bolivian police arrested Attorney General Roger Mariaca and raided the Attorney General’s Office in Sucre and Santa Cruz. The police action comes just days after the US State Department revoked the visas of Mariaca and 21 other Bolivians. The US accused Mariaca of soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and to help people involved in violent crimes escape justice.

Analysts suggest that both Mariaca’s arrest, the raids, and the US sanctions, are not by mistake.

Mariaca is leading the investigation into Argentine political consultant Fernando Cerimedo. The influential political advisor to Latin America’s far right was arrested in August after he was accused by his ex-partner, Nadia Beller, of ordering an assassination attempt on her. She was shot three times but survived after undergoing emergency surgery.

Cerimedo is currently in custody in Bolivia after attempting to leave the country by plane following the attack on Beller. Messages were found on his cell phone that, according to the prosecution, directly link him to the attack on his ex-partner. Despite the emerging evidence against him not only in ordering the hit on Beller, but also in crimes of corruption and even involvement in drug trafficking, Cerimedo seems to have friends in high places, and not just in the Bolivian president’s office, but even from the United States.

Read more: Attempted murder accusations, troll farms, and presidential connections: the notorious case of Fernando Cerimedo

Argentine outlet Página 12, wrote in a report that, according to Beller, the sanctions against Mariaca “is a move by Donald Trump’s team to protect Cerimedo. As the Washington Post noted this week: ‘Cerimedo is the MAGA (Make America Great Again, Trump’s slogan) man across the entire continent.’”

In the report, Beller is quoted as saying: “Is this decision by the United States part of the fight for the Shield of the Americas or is it about protecting the MAGA network?…If the reason is corruption and drug trafficking, then they need to explain why the visa is being revoked for the attorney general who is investigating a network of that nature. Are they going after the investigator, or are they protecting part of the network?”

After news broke of the US actions against him, Roger Mariaca had said he will not back down and will continue the investigations until the end: “[I received the news] with great surprise … I will not back down even one centimeter from the investigations that fall under my jurisdiction.”

He highlighted that while it is clear that the Cerimedo case has generated international intrigue, “no political pressure, whether national or international, can become an impediment to clarifying the facts which must be investigated.”

Involvement in the drug trade?

In addition to Cerimedo’s well-documented role ties to high profile right-wing politicians across Latin America, including in Bolivia, recent revelations from Beller, suggest that the powerful political consultant may have also been involved in the drug trade. In a leaked audio message, Cerimedo is allegedly speaking with a woman with whom he is arranging payment so that several flights can operate without excessive pressure from the authorities. Cerimedo mentions a man named Cabrera, whom the Bolivian media suspect is Franz Cabrera, the former head of the Special Force to Fight Against Drug Trafficking (FELCN), who was recently dismissed.

According to the investigations, they allegedly “were paid” for nearly 45 flights, amounting to $700,000, raising significant suspicions about the source of the funds that the political consultant is said to have handled.

Thus, the investigation into Cerimedo has shown that the influence of this powerful political consultant on the Latin American right runs deeper than meets the eye. What may yet come to light could turn out to be even more problematic than has already been revealed … and could extend to various parts of the world.

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