Journalist Bertha Michelle Mendoza, who considers herself an exile in the United States -even though that country has not granted her such title, is involved in multiple scandals that expose her links with corruption and her mistreatment and manipulation of people close to her and the press itself. In this sense, the activist took advantage of her sentimental relationship with lawyer and former prosecutor Andrei Gonzalez to extract confidential information from witnesses, clearly violating Guatemalan law.
In this way, Mendoza also profaned journalistic ethics in which one must seek one’s sources. In addition, he exposed a witness incriminating the president of Guatemala without prior approval or definition by judicial authorities.
Violation of the law: Mendoza collected and published sensitive information
Mendoza and Gonzalez met in Washington DC, where they both escaped multiple legal charges. The man was also in a conflictive situation: he worked for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala during the administration of Juan Francisco Sandoval, within the special prosecutor’s office, and he also left for the United States when several members of the institution abandoned it after a change in management.
But the situation went even further when he allowed her to get involved with a source of information, violating legal ethics since it is confidential information. Furthermore, it put at stake the impartiality required for the position on the part of Gonzalez, who acted according to his position.
As time went by, Mendoza advanced in her career dealing with high-profile cases with very sensitive information and publishing it in the CNN media network where she worked as a correspondent. In addition to González, the journalist compiled data provided by Velázquez’s team and former Attorney General Thelma Aldana.
One of the most terrible points of this unethical network was when she leaked details of the statement of a protected witness, called “Witness A”, who spoke about issues that directly incriminated the former president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammatei.
However, this situation became known when it was revealed that González illegally and illegitimately provided her with this information. Since then, although the journalist and the lawyer claim to be politically persecuted by the Guatemalan justice system, which allegedly forced them to leave the country, the truth is that they are fugitives and live in the United States where they are trying to avoid facing charges in their country of origin.
The crimes committed by the journalist, as well as the constant refusal to give comments to the press, are indicative of the situation in which the fugitive Michelle Mendoza finds herself. In addition to this mysterious case, the handling of the “activist” led her to definitively lose custody of her two daughters.
