14 DAY TRIAL // A new report indicates the NSA has been spying on Mexican officials for a while now; particularly, it hacked the email of former President Felipe Calderon, back when he was in office.
A new report from Der Spiegel indicates the operation was named “Flatliquid” and exploited an email server to gain access to the account, server that was also used by other state officials.
Calderon was a Mexican leader who had a close relationship with the United States government. Furthermore, the two states continue to work together on a number of domains, including of an economic nature.
However, the latest report indicates that a good relationship with the United States doesn’t mean the NSA won’t be keeping tabs on a particular leader.
The new report, of course, isn’t that surprising. Last month, it was revealed that the NSA had also been spying on current Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto since he was still a candidate, along with the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
The Mexican authorities have already reacted to the revelations from September by summoning the US ambassador, but the reaction to the latest leaks might be harsher since Calderon was a known ally of the US, working more closely with the country than any of his predecessors.
It seems the purpose of the NSA was also of an economic nature when it comes to spying on Mexico, similarly to Brazil, where the intelligence agency was spying on oil corporation Petrobras.
Another operation the US conducted in Mexico was called “Whitetamale.” In August 2009, internal documents indicated the agency had gained access to high-ranking officials working for the Public Security Secretariat that combats drug trades and human trafficking.
The US thus gained access to information on drug cartels and other data of a diplomatic nature. The operation helped the agency produce some 260 classified reports which allowed the US to navigate their way successfully through a number of political issues.
“These TAO accesses into several Mexican government agencies are just the beginning – we intend to go much further against this important target,” the document reveals.