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Mexican President Criticizes US Espionage and Pledges to Control Militias

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President Andres Manuel López Obrador has accused the Pentagon of spying on the Mexican government after leaks surfaced in the US media that he said he would begin categorizing the military’s information for national security.

His remarks came several days after The Washington Post reported apparent tensions between the Mexican Navy and the Army, citing a US military brief that was revealed in online leaks of classified US military records.

“We will now work to protect information from the Navy and the Department of Defense because we are a target of espionage by the Pentagon,” Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It described the leak as a “deliberate criminal act”.

The Washington Post said there was no indication that the aforementioned document came from intercepted communications of Mexican officials.

López Obrador has come under pressure to hold the military accountable for years of alleged abuses, including reported disappearances and killings. However, he strengthened the military’s role in public safety and sought to bring the National Guard, a military police force, under the control of the military.

On Monday, López Obrador called US intelligence in the leaks “abusive and arrogant interference that should not be accepted under any circumstances,” adding that he did not plan to reprimand the US, but would at some point discuss “terms of cooperative action.”

When presented Tuesday with fresh allegations of the use of controversial spyware Pegasus during his administration, he reiterated that his administration does not spy.

Prominent Mexico-based rights group Centro Broad said on Tuesday that two of its employees had their phones targeted by Pegasus last year, according to an analysis by Toronto-based digital watchdog Citizen Lab, becoming the latest cases of several alleged Pegasus used during López Obrador. Government.

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