BYLINE

Investigative CorrespondentEst. 2014

VASQUEZ

Filing from conflict zones. Breaking procurement scandals.
Words in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Le Monde.

Filed & Published

2024–2026

UN headquarters building with glass facade reflecting cloudy sky, investigative journalism context

InvestigationLongform

14 min read

Geneva, Switzerland · Feb 19, 2026

The Ghost Contracts: How $2.3B Vanished from the UN Procurement Office

A 14-month investigation across six countries traces a web of shell companies, complicit officials, and a whistleblower who paid with her career.

Read the InvestigationBy M. Vasquez

Field Recording

Kyiv Press Briefing · Jan 2026

"They told us not to report the convoy routes."

Raw audio from a Ministry briefing — the moment officials asked journalists to self-censor.

4:32

Photo Essay·Hover to explore →

Journalist writing notes in a dimly lit hotel room with laptop screen glow, conflict zone reporting

Dispatches from Odessa

Ukraine, March 2025

Press lanyard and notebook on a table in a UN briefing room with fluorescent lighting

Inside the Briefing Room

Geneva, Nov 2025

Aerial view of a city skyline at dusk with dramatic clouds, investigative journalism travel

Following the Money

Nairobi, Aug 2025

Close-up of handwritten shorthand notes in a reporter notebook under bright lights

Shorthand Under Pressure

Brussels, Jan 2026

Modern glass office building reflecting clouds, corporate investigation setting

The Procurement Files

Vienna, Dec 2025

Pull Quote

The documents were shredded on a Tuesday. By Wednesday, the minister had a press release.

M. Vasquez

Foreign Policy, 2025

Read piece →

By the Numbers

0Yearsin the field

0+Investigationspublished

0Awardsincl. CPJ grant

0Countriesreported from

Published In

The Atlantic2024–26

Foreign Policy2023–26

Le Monde2022–25

The Guardian2021–24

Der Spiegel2023–25

Al Jazeera2022–26

+ 14 regional publications

Archival Depth

Journalist M. Vasquez speaking during a video interview in a television studio, microphone visible

Video Interview·34 min

"The Source You Never Name": On Protecting Whistleblowers in the Digital Age

Columbia Journalism Review · In Conversation with M. Vasquez

Recognition

CPJ

Press Freedom Grant

Investigative · 2025

IRE

Award for Excellence

Data Journalism · 2024

ONA

Online Journalism Award

Longform · 2023

DIG

Digital Investigation Prize

Global Affairs · 2022

The Origin Story

How a law student became a war correspondent

VASQUEZ

The Ghost Contracts: How $2.3B Vanished from the UN Procurement Office

"They told us not to report the convoy routes."

"The Source You Never Name": On Protecting Whistleblowers in the Digital Age

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