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The eldest son of Mexico\u2019s president and the governing party\u2019s presidential candidate said Saturday that their telephone numbers were published on social media and that they have received threats and insults. Both denounced the action.<\/p>\n
The incident came a day after President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador\u00a0disclosed the phone number of a reporter for The New York Times<\/a>, which published a story about a U.S. probe into claims that L\u00f3pez took money from drug traffickers. L\u00f3pez Obrador denied the allegations.<\/p>\n The first to report the release of his phone number was the president\u2019s oldest son, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n L\u00f3pez Beltr\u00e1n, who wrote on the X<\/a> platform that he considered the action \u201ca kind of vengeance\u201d and said it puts his family in danger.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t immediately clear who made the number public. L\u00f3pez Beltr\u00e1n said the incident began with a letter that contained \u201cthreats and lies\u201d directed at the president and his sons. He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Mexico\u2019s president told reporters that it was \u201cembarrassing for them to act that way,\u201d referring to everyone involved.<\/p>\n He spoke while visiting the city of Mazatlan and once again criticized The New York Times report, saying, \u201cWe are not taking a single step back in the defense of liberty and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Beltr\u00e1n said it was the second time that his phone number has been published and noted he also has been harassed by cameras and drones everywhere he has lived.<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Beltr\u00e1n also blamed the New York Times reporter, Natalie Kitroeff, for her phone number being made public, saying she provided the number \u201cthinking that the president would respond to her slander.\u201d<\/p>\n Hours later, the presidential candidate of L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s Morena party, Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as the party\u2019s secretary general, Citlalli Hern\u00e1ndez, announced that their numbers also had been leaked and that they were receiving offensive calls and messages.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s obvious what they want to do, again their attacks are as crude as they are harmless,\u201d Sheinbaum said on her social media account and posted a screenshot of one of the messages she received.<\/p>\n The leak of the phone data was condemned by Adri\u00e1n Alcal\u00e1, head of the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data, an autonomous body that guarantees access to information and the protection of personal data in Mexico.<\/p>\n Alcal\u00e1 said on his X account that the body would seek to ensure the right to the protection of personal data in Mexico.<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Obrador on Friday defended his release of Kitroeff\u2019s number despite local regulations on the protection of personal data.<\/p>\n \u201cAbove that law is moral authority and political authority, and I represent a country and I represent a people who deserve respect,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n Alcal\u00e1 objected to those comments, telling L\u00f3pez Obrador that no one in Mexico is above the law, including the president and all other public officials.<\/p>\n \u201cWe regret that the Presidency does not warn how serious the disclosure of information by any person can be, especially by a journalist,\u201d Alcal\u00e1 said on X.<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez Obrador has questioned the need for Alcal\u00e1\u2019s agency on several occasions, and this month he presented an initiative in Congress to eliminate it and other autonomous agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n