MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Friday responded to criticism of his decision to disclose the phone number of a reporter from New York Times, investigating alleged ties to drug cartels in the country.
Lopez Obrador’s comments came after the newspaper reported that US law enforcement officials have spent years investigating allegations that people close to him stole millions of dollars from criminal organizations.
On Thursday, he read a journalist’s phone number along with a question from The New York Times at a regular news conference.
Lopez Obrador on Friday denied violating data protection laws, saying “there is no law that goes beyond the fundamental principle of freedom.”
“What happens when this journalist is slandering me? She’s linking me and my family (with organized crime) without evidence,” Obradorhe said further.
The newspaper termed the incident as “a troubling and unacceptable tactic from a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are on the rise.”
Mexico’s National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data said it would investigate whether the disclosure of the information violated the law.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders described Lopez Obrador’s actions as a “scandal” and said he should apologize to the journalists involved.
According to the New York Times, the United States has decided not to launch a formal investigation into Lopez Obrador because there is little enthusiasm to pursue charges against the leader of a key US ally.
