How Mexico Became the Biggest User of the World’s Most Notorious Spy Tool

NYT WORLD: How Mexico Became the Biggest User of the World’s Most Notorious Spy Tool
By Natalie Kitroeff and Ronen Bergman
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: April 18, 2023 at 03:00AM

A Times investigation reveals the story behind how Mexico became the first and most prolific user of Pegasus. It’s still using it, despite promising to stop.

The Israelis had come to Mexico to clinch a major sale: The Mexican military was about to become the first client ever to buy their product, the world’s most advanced spyware. But before they could close the deal, an argument erupted over price and how quickly the spy tool could be delivered. A Mexican general overseeing the negotiations called for a pause until later that evening, according to two people present and a third with knowledge of the talks. “We’ll pick you up at your hotel and make sure to arrange a better atmosphere,” they recalled the general saying. That night, a convoy of cars arrived at the Israeli executives’ hotel and took them to a new spot for the fateful negotiations: a strip club in the heart of Mexico City. The general’s security team ordered all the other clientele to leave the club, the three people said, and the talks resumed. It was in that dark cabaret in March 2011, among women dancing onstage and shots of tequila, that the most powerful cyberweapon in existence got its start.

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/world/americas/pegasus-spyware-mexico.html