Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a press conference. File photo.
The head of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), Glen VanHerck, accused Mexico of being the largest base of operations for Russian espionage agencies. In response, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that Mexico is not a colony of Russia nor China nor the US.
The president of Mexico said: “It is a statement, we are not going to challenge anything, we are respectful of the free expression of ideas. Mexico is free, independent, and sovereign; it should be known more and more, because sometimes it seems that it is not understood enough. We have to send them telegrams informing them that Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country, that Mexico is a free, independent, and sovereign country, that we are not a colony of Russia nor China nor the United States.”
“Are there spies, Russian agents in Mexico?” he was asked off of the microphone.
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López Obrador replied: “I don’t know, we have no information on that. And yes, we do not prevent anyone, any foreigner who wants to carry out legal activities in the country, from doing so. Those who are criminals and commit crimes, are arrested. Neither Mexicans nor foreigners are allowed to commit crimes in our country, and it should also be understood that we have a policy of non-intervention. They should remember what President Juárez said: ‘Among individuals as among nations, respect for another’s right is peace.’ It’s as simple as that.”
“We are not going to Moscow to spy on anyone, nor are we going to Beijing to spy on what they are doing in China, nor are we going to Washington, not even Los Angeles. We do not get into that,” he said at the morning press conference held last Friday in the capital of Morelos.
On Thursday, the head of the post-9/11 joint military command USNORTHCOM, Glen VanHerck, assured the US Senate that Mexico is currently the largest base of operations for Russian espionage agencies in the world, especially through the Central Intelligence Department of Russia, or Glávnoye Razvédyvatelnoye Upravlenie (GRU).
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Russian embassy responds
On the other hand, this Friday the Russian Embassy in Mexico stated that the accusations made by US officials regarding the presence of “Russian military spies” in Mexico “have no basis.”
The representation in Mexico of the government of Vladimir Putin refuted these statements in messages on social networks and stated that it is “US propaganda that aims to isolate Russia and its diplomats around the world through fake news.”
The Russian embassy pointed out that “it has analyzed with great attention the speech of Mr. Glen D. VanHerck and its opinion is that there is no basis on which to assume the presence of ‘Russian military spies’ in Mexico.”
Featured image: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a press conference. File photo.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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