The Senate Constitutional Affairs Commission approved the titles of 23 elected senators, but left Villaverde out. His rejection was signed by 12 senators from various blocksincluding Unión por la Patria and sectors of the opposition. However, the opinion is not binding: The last word will be in the session on November 28. To prevent Villaverde from taking office, Peronism will need to add allies, since the result is defined by a simple majority.
The accusations against Villaverde are not minor: She was arrested in the United States in 2002 for alleged drug trafficking and maintains links with Claudio Ciccarelli, related to Fred Machado, both investigated in cases of real estate fraud and fraudulent loans.
As a means of pressure and counterattack, the ruling party through Bullrich, shortly before the start of the commission, presented a challenge against the former governor of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich for his relationship with the Sena clan – convicted for the femicide of Cecilia Strzyzowski -, and Martín Soria for complaints of diversion of funds when he was mayor of General Roca in Río Negro.
In the debate some allies of the Government also voted against the candidate for senator linked to drug trafficking. Even though Luis Juez came out to support Villaverde, denying everything, The majority of the commission maintained that he is not suitable to occupy a seat.
Lorena Villaverde is a political leader of La Libertad Avanza in the province of Río Negro, which in 2025 was involved in a strong scandal due to his links with drug trafficking and a judicial case in the United States. The case came to light when it became known that José Luis Espert was denounced for receiving funds from Fred Machado, a businessman accused of drug traffickingand that Villaverde had a close emotional and work bond with Claudio Ciccarelli, Machado’s cousin and trusted man.
The situation worsened with the release of US court documents that implicate her in an undercover drug operation in Miami. Although the trial was suspended due to irregularities, journalistic versions maintain that Villaverde had collaborated with the DEA before leaving the United States.
Furthermore, journalistic investigations revealed that Villaverde is mentioned in a case for pyramid scams against Enrique Blaskey Señorans, in which he would have obtained investors who were later defrauded of millions of pesos. In August 2025, was seized for 50 million pesos for a scam in the sale of land in Las Grutas, Río Negro. She is also accused of sending threatening messages to journalists who investigated her case. This whole network exposed the connections between the libertarian space and drug trafficking networks, and had a strong electoral impact, collapsing the image of Villaverde and La Libertad Avanza in the province, in the midst of the Espert scandal.
In summary, Lorena Villaverde went from leading the polls in Río Negro to being at the center of a scandal due to her links to drug trafficking, scams and threats, which generated a crisis of legitimacy in her political space days before the elections. His fate will be sealed in the next session of the Senate, where the opposition will need allies to prevent the inauguration of the Rio Negro.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
