In the latest development in the “Maletagate” case (previous posts – 1, 2, 3) ex-Argentine airport agent Maria del Lujan Telpuk gave her testimony on Friday to a U.S. federal jury. She recalled discovering the suitcase of Venezuelan businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson completely full of money which prosecutors alleged was illegally destined to fund the campaign of Argentine president Cristina Fernandez.Telpuk’s testimony has caught the media’s attention, but what angle do you think they focused on: how she did her job as a security officer responsibly? Or perhaps that her testimony may’ve linked Venezuelan intelligence agents to illicit campaign smuggling? Guess again:
* Guardian UK - "Pin-up girl tells how she spotted suitcase stuffed with cash"
* AP - "Argentine pinup testifies in suitcase scandal case"
* miamiherald.com - "Playboy pinup tells her side in Venezuela suitcase trial"
The media has every right to discuss how Telpuk’s been milking her quasi-celebrity status by posing in Playboy and other “lad” mags. Yet for her fifteen minutes of fame to be the primary focus by the media in such a vital case is misguided and possibly sexist.
The judge in the “Maletagate” case warned prosecutors to maintain “a certain amount of decorum” in discussing Telpuk. Pity the press cannot do the same.
Image- BBC Mundo
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Mercopress, Bloomberg, Guardian UK, AP, miamiherald.com
2 comments:
Sexist to whom, exactly? Srta. Telpuk seems to be getting the kind of coverage that will extend her 15 minutes.
Vital case? WTF? The whole trial is a circus created for nothing more than an attempt to embarrass the governments of Argentina and Venezuela. That this lead witness is dismissed as a pinup girl is characteristic of the fraud behind this phony case. Newsflash: she now claims the FBI tried to bribe her as well. Vital case? I THINK NOT.
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