Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied on Tuesday that his government spied on opponents, refuting accusations by various media outlets that the military hacked the phones of at least three people with controversial Pegasus software.
“It is not true that journalists or opponents are spied on,” Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters. “The army did not engage in espionage (…) What it does is (collect) intelligence to deal with criminals.”
According to various media in recent days, a group of hackers -identified as Guacamaya- extracted information from an army database, according to which it continued to use Pegasus spyware after Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in 2018, when the latter had assured that there would be no more abuses under his presidency.
“I promised that no one would be spied on, no member of the opposition”
The phones of a journalist, a press columnist and a human rights activist were allegedly infected with the spyware between 2019 and 2021, according to the Mexican digital rights organization R3D, with technical support from Citizen Lab, University of Toronto Cyber. Security Project. .
Reports of improper use of Pegasus in Mexico date back to 2017, when the country was governed by President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018). They had resurfaced in July 2021 following new media revelations.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not confirm or deny whether Pegasus is still being used by military intelligence, but said the military will file a report on the matter.
“We are not the same as the previous (governments). I promised that no one would be spied on, no member of the opposition,” insisted the president, who assures that his political opponents are behind the leaks.
Source: BFM TV
