On March 27, 2009, Mendoza documented a visit to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on her Internet blog. In it, she was quoted as saying, "[Guantanamo] was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful". She also stated that when she visited the detainees camps, "...we saw the jails, where they shower, how they entertain themselves with movies, art classes, books. It was very interesting." In her home country, Venezuela, the issue became the talk of the town, with the president, Hugo Chávez, reconsidering the praise he had previously given her. The Miss Universe Organization has replied that "...[her] comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. Military and their families who are stationed in Guantánamo". On April 1, 2009, the entry vanished from her blog.
In 2009, she starred in her first short film Sweet Misery. That year she was part of the group of animators of the Venevision morning show, Portadas. of Venevision, Portada's.