Expression
According to a Washington Post investigation, prominent historian Camilo Vicente Ovalle has been the victim of the cell phone spyware known as Pegasus. In 2022 Apple notified him that his phone had been compromised by "state-sponsored attackers." A deeper analysis by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto confirmed the use of the Pegasus malware. Ovalle has been a lead investigator of abuses committed by the Army during the period known as the Dirty War from the 1960s to the late 1990s. The use of the spyware on his phone suggests more evidence of the Army's attempts to sabotage efforts to uncover the truth about past abuses.
A journalist and her family have received multiple threatening messages online after publishing an online joke referring to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his sons for alleged conflicts of interest and influence peddling. Denise Dresser Guerra says she and her children have received intimidating messages that appear related to her work as a journalist. Her children’s names and contact information were also made public as part of the attack, she said.
El espionaje contra el historiador Camilo Vicente Ovalle, quien investiga los crímenes cometidos durante la Guerra Sucia, muestra la relación entre el uso ilegal de #Pegasus con el encubrimiento de violaciones perpetradas por el #EjércitoEspía. pic.twitter.com/Hi6oF4pank
— R3D (@R3Dmx) July 13, 2023
Peaceful Assembly
On 13th June, farmers in at least 20 states blocked traffic on highways and toll booths and occupied government offices and the airport in Sinaloa to urge the federal government to guarantee prices for corn, wheat and sorghum. In some locations, national guard troops and police were deployed to restrict and disrupt protests that had interrupted or blocked traffic and airport activities. The farmers say government intervention is necessary to stay competitive against international prices.
In early June, residents near Guadalajara demonstrated against the abduction of at least seven call centre workers days after human remains were discovered that authorities believe might belong to missing workers. The Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office said the remains found in Zapopan were still subject to forensic tests to formally identify the bodies.
On 18th May, taxi drivers blocked traffic near the San Ysidro Port of Entry to the United States in protest of being asked to travel on dangerous routes. Photos taken during the protests show several hundred people blocking roads that lead to the border crossing. Drivers say they are being asked by the government to use roads that are not safe.