Mexican President Defends Reading Out New York Times Reporter’s Phone Number During Press Briefing
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is defending his decision to publicize a New York Times reporter’s phone number during a press conference on Thursday.
López Obrador argued that Mexico’s law on the Protection of Personal Data does not apply to him as the president.
The issue began when the Times published a story from Mexico bureau chief Natalie Kitroeff about how American law enforcement had allegedly spent years investigating potential links between drug traffickers and people close to the Mexican president.
Before publishing the article, Kitroeff sent a letter to López Obrador’s spokesperson requesting a comment. The letter contained her phone number.
During his daily press conference on Thursday, López Obrador put the unredacted letter on a large screen and read it out loud — including the number.
