A 51-year-old Argentine is the unexpected figure in the first month of President Keiko Fujimori’s government. His name is Damián Valenzuela Mayer, he is a lawyer and until a few weeks ago was practically unknown in Peruvian politics. His companies have ongoing legal cases in several countries. The weekly Hildebrandt en sus Trece revealed that he was close to Fujimori during the presidential campaign, although he was never publicly presented as part of her team. The investigation, signed by journalist Eloy Marchán, with photographs by César Zamalloa, began to take shape on July 11, when Fujimori had already been proclaimed president-elect by the National Jury of Elections and went to a spa in Lima where Valenzuela was also present.
Both Marchán and Zamalloa stationed themselves in front of the beauty center, located in the Santa Catalina neighborhood, in the district of La Victoria, and patiently waited for visitors. According to the weekly, Fujimori arrived that day at the Tomyko spa in a van rented by Popular Force and accompanied by a state security vehicle. She had booked a session for two people that included treatments, massages, sauna, champagne, and chocolates. Fujimori and Valenzuela did not enter together. “After dropping Fujimori off at the beauty salon door, the van left. Ten minutes later it returned with Valenzuela on board and dropped him off in front of the same service door through which Fujimori entered,” the report states. Fujimori left two hours later. Valenzuela, in a sports polo and shorts, did so fifteen minutes later.
Marchán recounts that since the end of last year, a version circulated among political sources that an Argentine maintained a close relationship with Fujimori. After identifying him, the journalist also discovered that she called him “Gerardo.” During the campaign, Popular Force had other foreign advisors, such as Cuban Carlos Díaz Rosillo and Spaniard Román Cendoya, who did have public exposure and even appeared in several media outlets as independent analysts. Valenzuela, on the other hand, remained offstage. On July 28, he appeared in a prime spot during Fujimori’s inauguration, spoke with guests such as Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the Spanish Popular Party, and later attended the gala dinner.
Valenzuela is a lawyer and CEO of Latin America Invest, a firm that presents itself as specialized in “asset protection” and “enhancing investments.” The company claims to operate in ten countries, has 1,300 clients, and manages 3 billion dollars in assets. It has been present in Peru since 2011. According to Hildebrandt en sus Trece, Valenzuela has traveled to Lima 11 times since last October, usually coming from Argentina or the United States. In specialized publications, he is presented as a financier with international operations.
According to U.S. court documents cited by the weekly, Valenzuela has at least four adverse rulings registered in Florida for failing to return investments. Among them is a five million dollar judgment in favor of the company Chily Star Corp and another lawsuit for 3.1 million dollars filed by Bolivian Arab businessman José Luis Handal. Both gave money in exchange for better returns. In Argentina, an investor obtained a favorable ruling against a company chaired by him. In Uruguay, the Central Bank revoked Banfisol SA’s license in 2024, linked to Valenzuela, after detecting several irregularities (it allegedly gave a false address as its domicile and lied about the number of its workers). One of his companies in Spain is also in bankruptcy proceedings, and another registered in Panama is listed as inactive.
Valenzuela has rejected the content of the report in a message on his social networks and has announced that he will defend himself: “I have been a victim of aggravated defamation… As a political and economic analyst in prestigious media, I respect professional journalistic activity and freedom of information must be guaranteed. But when a mediocre and defamatory job is done, it is mandatory to defend the profession, separating the wheat from the chaff.”
Two ministers have downplayed the revelation. The Minister of Health, Luis Dyer, called the episode “hairdresser gossip” and stated that Valenzuela “has no influence in the Government.” The Minister of Agrarian Development, Marco Vinelli, was less categorical: “I could not say he is an advisor; what I can say is that the president consults many people.” He added: “I don’t know what degree of influence he has over the president.” So far, the Executive has not specified whether Valenzuela holds any formal or informal role, if he received remuneration during the campaign, or under what condition he was invited to the official acts on July 28.
Read more Who trades with Iran? The countries in Trump’s crosshairs
President Keiko Fujimori referred to the case on Sunday during one of her usual TikTok broadcasts. She confirmed that she was at the spa on July 11, assured that she arrived in a vehicle from her party, and emphasized that she had not yet assumed the Presidency. However, she did not explain what Valenzuela was doing in the same place. Nor did she explicitly define him as her advisor. “In this campaign and over the past few years, I have had several friends who have helped me, including Mr. Carlos (Díaz Rosillo), Mr. Damián (Valenzuela Mayer), Mr. Román (Cendoya), who are foreigners who have generously come to collaborate and I, of course, value the knowledge of all these people who, generously, have wanted to help me in this process.”
Alberto Fujimori’s daughter also responded to speculations about a possible romantic relationship. “For a long time, they have invented relationships for me, four, five relationships. But I have already clearly stated that, from July 28 for the next five years, my commitment is to Peru.”
For Marchán, that explanation leaves the core of the investigation unanswered. “Mr. Valenzuela was never introduced. Keiko hid his name at all times. She called him Gerardo. That man has a company in Peru that has been operating for 15 years. He has interests. Were they paid for his services? What role has the Argentine played in her campaign? They have tried to divert attention with the sentimental issue, but they have not said what he was doing at the spa with her. Did she know about Mr. Valenzuela’s judgments? Who invited Valenzuela to the Government Palace?” he questions.
Ángel Páez, head of the Investigation Unit of La República, also introduces a historical precedent: “Clandestine meetings were part of the essence of Alberto Fujimori’s government and his advisor Vladimiro Montesinos, who, by the way, recorded many of these meetings in the famous vladivideos. Keiko Fujimori acquired this practice: it is documented that during her 2011 and 2016 presidential campaigns she received cash from powerful businessmen who did not declare the million-dollar contributions. So the case of the Argentine Damián Valenzuela Mayer is an episode that deserves public scrutiny.”
Marchán, for his part, maintains that the interest of the report is not to determine the personal nature of the relationship. “It is not hairdresser gossip at all. It is not about who Mrs. Fujimori is intimate with, but about what private meetings the president has. The private life of a president is greatly restricted when assuming office because they embody the nation.”
Read more The love triangle that Geena Davis starred in during the eighties and ended with a broken heart
