Mexico govt ‘ spied’ on journalists

Group accuses authorities of using Israeli spyware

A group of prominent journalists and activists in Mexico accused the government Monday of spying on them, saying their phones had been hacked with Israeli spyware sold exclusively to the state.

The group said at a press conference that it has pressed charges with the attorney general’s office, accusing the government of illegally accessing private communications and other offenses.

The nine plaintiffs at the news event included journalists who have published embarrassing exposes on government corruption and activists who have investigated human rights violations by the state.

“This is an operation by the Mexican state, in which state agents – far from doing what they should legally do – have used our resources, our taxes, our money to commit serious abuses,” said journalist Carmen Aristegui.

Aristegui, a veteran reporter, is known in Mexico for a 2014 expose revealing that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s wife had bought a $ 7 million Mexico City mansion from a government contractor. She is among the 76 cases the plaintiffs say they have documented of high- tech spyware called Pegasus being installed on their phones, and those of their families and associates. The accusations were first published in a New York Times report detailing how Pegasus was used against top human rights lawyers, journalists and anti- corruption activists in Mexico.

“What does the Mexican president have to say today about this treacherous, illegal spying?” Aristegui said.

Pena Nieto’s office responded with a letter to the editor of The New York Times.

“There is no proof whatsoever that Mexican government agencies are responsible for the alleged spying,” wrote spokesperson Daniel Millan Valencia.

Victims said they received text messages with eye- catching news headlines, social media posts or even communications from the US embassy, all of which were fake. The messages would prompt users to click on a link that would secretly install the spyware on their phones.

Pegasus effectively turns a target’s cellphone into a pocket spy, accessing the user’s communications, camera and microphone.