Controversy: The NYT letter to the president of Mexico

The NYT letter to the president of Mexico has raised much controversy, as it establishes a meeting between authorities and criminal groups.

On February 23, the president of Mexico reacted, and even revealed the journalist’s contact.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador responded to the criticism, after during Thursday’s ‘La Mañanera’ he revealed the telephone number of Natalie Kitroeff, journalist for The New York Times.

This journalist published a new investigation against him for alleged ties to drug trafficking.

The NYT letter to Mexico’s president controversial

The NYT letter to the president of Mexico has been at the center of public debate in recent days, with scenarios of relations with the cartel and violent groups in that country being discussed.

Some are already saying that the Mexican president applied doxing, that is, a type of digital violence that AMLO committed by showing the NYT journalist’s phone number on La Mañanera.

This February 23rd, from the podium of the National Palace, the leader of the Executive rejected that his action had been negative and, on the contrary, he assured that he would do it again.

This is due to the fact that, according to what he declared, communicators have been “allowed to slander with impunity”, for which reason they believe that “they cannot even be touched with the petal of a rose“.

The NYT letter to the president of Mexico is an alleged collection of meetings, both from government officials and even AMLO’s children, hence the journalist’s annoyance.

“First, you, with all due respect, who do journalism I would say factional because you only lean in favor of vested interest groups, you do not do journalism for everyone, you are too close to economic and political power. You are too close to economic and political power. You see the speck in the other’s eye, you feel you are hand embroidered, like a divine, privileged caste”, she declared.

Did AMLO do nothing wrong?

After that, he assured that he did nothing wrong because the morning press conference is a public space.

“But the telephone…,” a reporter questioned him.

-Yes, and what happens when this journalist is slandering me? (…) It was not a mistake because this is a public space and we are here applying a principle of transparency,” answered the president.

The president denied that sharing the journalist’s phone number was a crime, since he is “the moral authority”.

 “If she is worried, she should change her number,” AMLO replied.

In spite of the fact that a journalist pointed out to the president that by sharing her colleague’s number he had violated a law, López Obrador assured that the Mexican State is not a violator of human rights.

“Of course, when it is a matter in which the dignity of the president of Mexico is at stake.

Above the law, there is moral authority and political authority, and I represent a country and a people that deserve respect. Not just anyone is going to come and sit us in the dock, that was before”, clarified the President of Mexico.

There is no security threat

To conclude his speech, he assured that nothing will happen to the NYT correspondent in Mexico, but recommended that if she is worried about her safety, she should change her cell phone number.

During ‘La Mañanera’ on February 22, he explained about a letter from the NYT to the President of Mexico, in which they were preparing the publication of a new report against him.

AMLO pointed out that, on this occasion, the investigation accuses him of nexus with the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas to finance his 2018 presidential campaign.

“The correspondent of The New York Times, sends Jesus a questionnaire, but in a tone that you are now going to see, threatening, arrogant, letting us know that they are doing an investigation with information from the DEA where people linked to me received money,” he said.

After that, she dedicated a few minutes of her conference to read, word for word, the letter that Kitroeff sent her, including the number that the journalist provided so that she could communicate with her and give her version of the facts, if she wished to do so.

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Aspects of the NYT letter to the President of Mexico

The NYT letter to the President of Mexico was sent by journalist Natalie Kitroeff, chief Mexico correspondent for The New York Times.

In it, the Pullitzer Prize nominee asked the president to answer seven questions in order to include her position in the new report.

“I would like to inform you that we are working on a report about an investigation conducted by the U.S. government during the six-year term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, different from the DEA investigation that was made public a few weeks ago and that only analyzed his 2006 campaign.

Aspects of the NYT letter to the President of Mexico:

The NYT letter to the president of Mexico implicitly details AMLO’s relationship with these violent groups:

“We have until 17:00 today, February 21, to include it in the article,” it reads at the beginning of the letter.

1. The first question posed by Natalie Kitroeff explains that the new investigation is based on informant testimonies and money transfers, the same data that the US government allegedly collected.

2. On the second point, it is reported that based on documents they consulted and interviews they conducted, an informant revealed that “one of the closest confidants” of López Obrador met, before the 2018 elections, with Ismael Zambada García, ‘El Mayo’, the longest-serving leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

3. Along those lines, the next point explains that another informant related that, after López Obrador’s victory, one of the founders of Los Zetas paid 4 million dollars to an official aide and an unofficial advisor “in the hope of getting out of prison.”

4. The fourth point of the NYT request states that a third informant, whose name was not disclosed, told investigators that drug cartels were in possession of videos showing the president’s sons receiving money from organized crime.

5. The fifth point reveals that, during the investigation, the U.S. independently tracked payments from members of organized crime to intermediaries of the Mexican president.