Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) on Monday joined with 10 of his House colleagues to call on the ambassador of Mexico to the United States to verify that the Mexican government is moving forward in an investigation regarding the use of spyware technology against human-rights defenders, journalists and anti-corruption activists in Mexico.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Ambassador Geronimo Gutierrez, the Congress Members wrote, “We believe that it is imperative that the government of Mexico carry out a serious, transparent, thorough and impartial investigation into the illegal use of spyware and bring to justice any public official or government agency involved in the matter.”
In June, the New York Times broke a story about the use of sophisticated spyware technology targeting human-rights defenders, journalists and anti-corruption activists in Mexico. This spyware, known as Pegasus, was developed by the Israeli cyber warfare company NSO Group, which claims that the software is sold exclusively to government entities under the explicit condition that it only be used against suspected terrorists and criminal organizations.
However, an investigative-journalism report by digital media outlet The Citizen Lab found that this technology was used against, among others: human-rights attorneys at Centro Prodh, who represent the families of the missing 43 students from Ayotzinapa; women of Atenco, who were arrested and brutally sexually assaulted by police, as well as many other human-rights cases; anti-corruption journalist Carmen Aristegui and her teenage son; and an independent panel of experts appointed by an international commission to investigate the Ayotzinapa missing-student case.
According to three investigative reports in 2017, the government of Mexico spent more than $80 million to acquire the Pegasus technology. The Mexican government has never denied purchasing and owning the spyware, and earlier this year committed to launching an investigation into the misuse of this spyware. However, in the five months since the investigation began, the Mexican government has yet to provide any additional information regarding progress or results of its inquiry.
Source: Lowenthal’s office
