‘Mexico is not a colony’: President AMLO criticizes US claim it hosts Russian spies

Mexico’s left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has criticized the United States for claiming his country hosts more Russian spies than any other.

“We need to send them telegrams, informing them that Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country, that Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country,” declared López Obrador, who is known popularly by the acronym AMLO.

“More and more this should be known, because sometimes it appears that it is not understood well enough,” the Mexican president added.

Mexico's left-wing President AMLO criticized the US claim that his country hosts Russian spies

"We need to send them telegrams informing them Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country, that Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country"

Read more: https://t.co/9c6QqmzTDf pic.twitter.com/w7225NJCb2

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) March 27, 2022

The leader of US Northern Command (Northcom), General Glen VanHerck, claimed in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 24 that Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency the GRU supposedly has more spies in Mexico than anywhere else.

The general accused Russia of using Mexico to spy on and try to infiltrate the United States, alleging “that most of the GRU members in the world are in Mexico at the moment,” and that “they keep a very close eye on their chances of influencing the opportunities and access that the United States has.”

AMLO rejected the US government’s accusations in his morning press conference on March 25.

“We are not a colony of Russia, or of China, or of the United States,” AMLO asserted. “Mexico is an independent country, free and sovereign.”

“We don’t have information about that,” he stated in response to the US general’s allegations.

AMLO said Washington has the right to share its views, because, “We respect the free expression of ideas.” But he condemned the idea that Mexico is controlled by any foreign power.

President López Obrador also stressed that Mexico maintains an independent, non-aligned foreign policy, which respects all countries.

“We have a policy of non-intervention,” AMLO explained.

“We don’t go to Moscow to spy on anyone, nor do we go to Beijing to spy on what they’re doing in China, nor do we go to Washington, or even to Los Angeles. We don’t involve ourselves in that.”

The president added that his government respects the rights of foreigners who abide by Mexico’s laws, while those who violate the law will be detained and face consequences.

AMLO has repeatedly criticized the US government for funding right-wing opposition groups in Mexico.

He also condemned the European Union for meddling in his country’s internal affairs. In a scathing open letter on March 10, AMLO’s office denounced the European Parliament as “flunkies of the reactionary and coup-plotting strategy of the corrupt” right-wing Mexican opposition.

The European Parliament condemned Mexico’s left-wing President AMLO for his “populist rhetoric” against the biased corporate media

He responded by blasting the EU body as a reactionary gang of coup-plotters, declaring “we are no longer a colony of anyone”https://t.co/D9qXQbiIdQ

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) March 11, 2022

AMLO called on Brussels to “evolve, leave behind your obsessive meddling disguised as good intentions,” adding, “Don’t forget that we are no longer a colony of anyone. Mexico is a free, independent, and sovereign country.”

In both his March 25 press conference and his March 10 letter to the European Parliament, AMLO quoted former president Benito Juárez, who said, “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.”

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the United States pressured Mexico to join the Western powers in imposing sanctions on Moscow, but AMLO refused, emphasizing Mexico’s policy of non-intervention.

López Obrador has enjoyed a consistent 66% approval rating among Mexicans, making him one of the world’s most popular leaders.