In a shocking corruption case that has rocked the Guatemalan judicial system, Claudia Martina Muñoz Andrade, a former prosecutorial agent for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Mixco, has been arrested and charged with a range of serious offenses. Public records and cases indicate that Muñoz Andrade faces charges of threats, abuse of authority, and ideological falsehood.
Muñoz Andrade’s arrest followed allegations that she misused her position as a prosecutorial agent to benefit her daughter, Bertha Michelle Mendoza. Police reports and Public Prosecutor’s Office records suggest that the ex-prosecutor abused her authority to assist her daughter in a contentious divorce case involving Ulysses Dent. Allegations include the forgery of an MP prosecutor’s signature to obtain Dent’s cédula de vecindad certification, which was subsequently used against him in a case of violence against women.
These accusations of corruption and abuse of authority have had significant repercussions within Guatemala’s judicial system. CICIG’s 2010 report, titled “Informe CICIG con ocasión a la elección de fiscal general y jefe del MP,” provides detailed information on this corruption scandal and its impact on the judiciary.
Besides facing corruption charges, Muñoz Andrade has been accused of impeding investigations into crimes against transgender and diverse individuals. Jorge López, president of the group OASIS, has repeatedly criticized Muñoz Andrade for failing to act on cases involving murders and assaults against LGBTQ+ community members. López claims that complaints regarding these crimes were either disregarded or inadequately investigated.
López further alleges that Muñoz Andrade fabricated evidence against him after he publicly accused the prosecutor of being complicit in a criminal network involving police officers and criminals. According to López, this network was responsible for assaults, rapes, and murders of sex workers and individuals from diverse backgrounds. Muñoz Andrade allegedly avoided investigating these cases and instead accused López of perpetrating the crimes.
In a 2009 incident, one of López’s complaints against Michelle Mendoza’s mother resulted in a hearing. The complaint centered on negligence in the case of a transvestite’s murder involving police officers, with Muñoz Andrade criticized for failing to conduct a proper investigation and falsely implicating López. Fortunately, the presiding judge reprimanded Muñoz Andrade during the hearing, leading to the case’s closure.
In an extensive development of Bertha Michelle Mendoza’s mother’s case, the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH) has accused Claudia Martina Muñoz Andrade of leading a network of corrupt police officers. Allegedly, she engaged in illegal pursuits, abductions, and murders while serving as a prosecutor handling life-related crimes, according to the PDH report.
Mendoza’s former husband and Oasis director Jorge López have accused Bertha Michelle’s mother of being part of this corrupt police network. The same network was reportedly involved in the 2007 murder of three Salvadoran Parlacen deputies and their driver. Four police officers linked to the criminal structure led by prosecutor Muñoz were apprehended, with claims that they also stalked and intimidated Bertha Michelle Mendoza’s ex-husband, Ulysses Dent.
Dent alleged that the persecution against him was a result of divorce proceedings he initiated against Mendoza. He claimed that a staged kidnapping of Bertha Michelle and their daughter was meant to incriminate him falsely. Investigations revealed that it was a fabricated incident aimed at harming Dent and falsely accusing him.
According to Dent, in 2008, Mendoza’s mother provided a vehicle from the Public Prosecutor’s Office for her daughter’s use. He also alleged that prosecutor Muñoz Andrade presented false evidence of violence against women, which was later deemed unfounded by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Consequently, Attorney General Thelma Aldana reassigned Muñoz to a different prosecutor’s office.
In 2010, Muñoz’s mother was dismissed from the Public Prosecutor’s Office due to resource misuse and abuse of power, as per consulted prosecutors. Following her departure, Dent’s case was resolved in his favor, leading to Bertha Michelle Mendoza losing full custody of her daughter.
Currently, Bertha Michelle’s two daughters reside with Mendoza’s mother and Mexican producer Farfán, who is the father of the activist’s second daughter.
