by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
UN GATE, Nov 14 – How corrupt is today's UN under Antonio Guterres? Today's example is from Colombia, on which Spox Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming have refused all written questions from banned Inner City Press:
Dear Matthew, Following the information and warnings you previously reported, it’s now widely acknowledged within UNVMC that corruption has taken deep root, with figures like SRSG Carlos Ruiz, Chief HR Mar Brusola, and her partner Chief Conduct and Discipline Federico Ledesma heavily involved. The recent allegations only add to Brusola’s documented history of corrupt practices, as outlined in prior Inner City Press reports. Her actions demonstrate a disturbing pattern of favoritism, manipulation, and abuse of power.
[Note: Carlos Ruiz is aware of the banning of Inner City Press, and has done nothing]
Now after Guterres' OIOS wrote to Inner City Press asking it to confirm and locate a whistleblower - pure abuse, rejected by Inner City Press - now this:
Dear Matthew Russell Lee:
A senior United Nations official is facing serious allegations of misconduct, favoritism and abuse of authority following an internal complaint related to his previous tenure in Colombia. Carlos Gabriel Ruiz Massieu Aguirre, currently serving as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti (since August 2025), is alleged to have engaged in a long-standing romantic relationship with a direct subordinate during his time as SRSG of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia (UNVMC).
The relationship remained undisclosed to the UN Ethics Office or senior leadership at UN Headquarters, despite UN regulations requiring full transparency where conflicts of interest may arise. According to sources and internal documentation, Mr. Massieu began a personal relationship with Ms. Loreto Ferrer Moreu, initially his P-3 Senior Administrative Assistant. Shortly after, on 3 June 2021, Ms. Ferrer was promoted to a P-4 Special Assistant post reporting directly to him. Then, on 1 April 2024, she was elevated again, this time to a P-5 Senior Political Affairs Officer post, where Mr. Massieu was reportedly the hiring manager and both her First and Second Reporting Officer. What raises alarm is not just the rapid career trajectory, but that Ms. Ferrer had previously failed the required competitive process for Political Affairs Officer roles.
Only after her relationship with Mr. Massieu began did Ms. Ferrer receive successive promotions. Staff members have also raised serious concerns about the involvement of Chief Human Resources, Ms. Mar Brusola, whose management of recruitment processes is biased and corrupted. This is not the first time Mr. Massieu has faced misconduct of engaging in romantic relationships with subordinates. During his SRSG assignment in UNMVC, he was priorly involved in a romantic relationship with another subordinate administrative assistant, Ms. Daniela Vargas, a national staff member, whom he helped secure a P-3 role at UN Headquarters. That relationship became public after it was reported by independent watchdog Inner City Press.
At that time and after the article Mr. Massieu publicly acknowledged the relationship at a townhall, claiming he was engaged to Ms. Vargas however he never reported the relationship before as per UN staff rules. Short after he started being involved with Ms. Ferrer. Despite clear ethical obligations, Mr. Massieu failed to recuse himself from any stage of Ms. Ferrer’s hiring, supervision or promotion. Internal travel records suggest they routinely traveled together on official business, raising further questions about the use of organizational resources for personal purposes.
In May 2024, Mr. Massieu restructured the Office of the SRSG and appointed Ms. Ferrer as its Head, giving her a team of six. This move, perceived as consolidating power around a romantic partner, has reportedly damaged staff morale and contributed to a culture of favoritism and exclusion within the mission. Sources close to the matter describe an unhealthy work environment characterized by nepotism, preferential treatment and sidelining of professional staff. “It’s a textbook example of institutional breakdown through unchecked personal influence,” one official stated anonymously. Legal experts and ethics officers familiar say that failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, particularly when hiring and promotion decisions are involved, constitutes a clear breach of UN Staff Regulations and the standards of conduct expected of senior leadership.
Mr. Massieu is now reportedly working to have Ms. Ferrer transferred to the UN mission in Haiti, where he currently leads.
The UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is being urged to initiate an investigation --
Wait, the same OIOS which wrote to Inner City Press asking it to confirm and locate a whistleblower? Today's UN is corrupt and must be made to stop banning Press.
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