NSA Hacked 2 Mexican Presidents' Emails

New Snowden leaks reveal NSA expolited key government mail server
By Ruth Brown,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2013 1:58 PM CDT
NSA Hacked 2 Mexican Presidents' Emails
Mexico's incoming President, Enrique Pena Nieto, left, smiles as he stands with outgoing President Felipe Calderon during the inauguration ceremony at the National Congress in Mexico City.   (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Last month, it was revealed that the NSA had spied on the emails of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto before he was elected. Turns out, US snooping on Mexico's government runs way deeper. According to a new documents leaked by Edward Snowden to Der Spiegel, the NSA ran a whole operation called "Flatliquid," which "successfully exploited a key mail server in the Mexican Presidencia domain within the Mexican Presidential network to gain first-ever access to President Felipe Calderon's public email account," the agency reported in 2010.

This is likely to raise even more hackles in Mexico than the previous leak, notes Der Spiegel, as Calderon, Nieto's predecessor, enjoyed close relations with Washington. The operation also accessed the email accounts of Mexican cabinet members, which the NSA document says allowed it to spy on "diplomatic, economic and leadership communications." A 2009 document reveals another operation called "Whitetamale," which snooped on emails by officials in Mexico's Public Security Secretariat, giving the NSA intel on Mexican drug cartels, and providing "diplomatic talking-points" to help US politicians with negotiations and investments. Click through for the full report. (More Enrique Pena Nieto stories.)

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