Former Mexican Minister denies knowledge of Pegasus spying program

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In statements to several media, Osorio Chong claimed to be unaware of any espionage system: “we monitored criminals and always requested the
authorization of a judge to be able to perform the corresponding surveillance, and it was conducted by the CISEN (Center for Investigation and National Security) or by the relevant agencies.”

Last Sunday, an investigation by an international media consortium uncovered that governments of several countries spied on 50,000 telephones through the Pegasus program, developed by an Israeli company, of which 15,000 cases occurred in Mexico during the Peña Nieto administration.

The investigation disclosed that the communications of activists and journalists, of the then opposition leader and current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, his collaborators and his cardiologist, as well as relatives of the 43 missing students of Ayotzinapa, were tapped.

Peña Nieto “categorically” denied in 2017 having spied journalists and activists following a report revealing that his government had tapped the phone of journalist Carmen Aristegui, among others.

The ex-Minister of the Interior insisted that the CISEN had other systems they worked with. “I had several meetings there, but they worked within the law and with court orders, only that way,” he stressed.

He reiterated that he had no knowledge of the existence of any other program dedicated to espionage, stated that he had given his statement regarding the case and will now be awaiting the results of investigations on the matter.

López Obrador said on Tuesday that his government “does not spy on anyone” and ruled out taking legal action against those who spied on him.