Highlights: Mexican president under investigation for revealing journalist's number on television. He is now the subject of an investigation by the Mexican data protection agency. During his usual press conference broadcast on television, Andrés Manuel López Obrador gave live the cell phone number of a New York Times journalist based in Mexico. Revealing the number is a “worrying and unacceptable tactic on the part of a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are increasing,” deplores the New Yorker. Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for the press.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador under fire for publicly revealing a journalist's phone number. He is now the subject of an investigation by…

Mexican president under investigation for revealing journalist's number on television

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador under fire for publicly revealing a journalist's phone number.

He is now the subject of an investigation by the Mexican data protection agency.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador on January 29, 2024 in Mexico City.

AFP - HANDOUT

By: RFI Follow

During his usual press conference broadcast on television, Andrés Manuel López Obrador gave live the cell phone number of a

New York Times

journalist based in Mexico.

While he complained about a newspaper investigation into possible links between his entourage and drug cartels, AMLO read the entire email, including his contact details.

Email in which this journalist asked him questions as part of the writing of this article.

“

It’s illegal

” and it puts the newspaper’s team “

in danger

,” denounced the representative in Mexico of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Revealing the number of a reporter is a “

worrying and unacceptable tactic on the part of a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are increasing

,” deplores the

New York Times

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for the press.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador is now under investigation.

The Mexican Institute for Personal Data Protection (Inai) immediately took up the matter and will verify whether the president broke the law.

An investigation revealing links with cartels

The

New York Times

investigation was published Thursday in English and Spanish.

According to it, an investigation by American officials made it possible to discover “

possible links between powerful cartel operators and officials and advisors

” close to the Mexican president.

The article claims that someone close to the president met with Ismael Zambada, one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, before his electoral victory in 2018. “

The United States never opened a formal investigation against López Obrador and the officials in charge of the investigation archived it

,” specifies the New York Times.

The Mexican president called the accusations “

slander

” and urged the US administration to explain itself.

However, in late January, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Golden published an investigation in the online media outlet ProPublica claiming that the Sinaloa Cartel had paid two million dollars to the first of three campaigns of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2006 The president denounced “immoral practices” and “

slander

”, accusing his political opponents of being behind them, a few days before the official launch of the campaign for the presidential election on June 2.

Mexican president under investigation for revealing journalist's number on television

Mexican president under investigation for revealing journalist's number on television

An investigation revealing links with cartels

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