The Mexican government or military has allegedly continued to use spyware designed to hack the cell phones of activists, despite the promise of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to end such practices.
Press freedom groups said Monday they have found evidence of recent attempts to use the Israeli spyware Pegasus against activists investigating human rights violations by the Mexican military.
According to a report by the press freedom organization Article 19, the Network in Defense of Digital Rights and Mexican media organizations, Raymundo Ramos is among the targets.
Ramos has worked for years documenting abuses by military and police forces in the drug cartel-dominated border city of Nuevo Laredo. Ramos’ cell phone was apparently infected with pegasus spy software in 2020.
Other victims include journalist and author Ricardo Raphael in 2019 and 2020, and an unidentified journalist from the online media outlet Animal Político.
Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018 promising to end government espionage. The president claimed that he himself had been a victim of government surveillance for decades as an opposition leader.
Monday’s report alleges that the Mexican military has requested price quotes for surveillance programs from companies involved in the distribution of Pegasus, which the company says is sold only to governments.
According to the report, the group of hackers Guacamaya found army documents listing requests for 2020, 2021 and 2022 price quotes.
In 2021, a Mexican businessman was arrested and accused of using Pegasus spyware to spy on a journalist, but Israeli spyware firm NSO Group claimed no ties to the man.
The businessman has long been described in Mexico as an employee of a firm that acted as an intermediary in the purchase of spyware.
López Obrador’s top security official has said that two previous governments spent $61 million to buy Pegasus spyware.
The NSO Group has been implicated in government surveillance of opponents and journalists around the world. The company ensures that “NSO technologies are only sold to vetted and approved government entities.”
Mexico had the largest list, some 15,000 phone numbers, among more than 50,000 allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance.
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