López Obrador, on the Guacamaya leak: "It was a resounding failure"

The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at his press conference on October 19. Presidency of Mexico (Presidency of Mexico/EFE)

Andrés Manuel López Obrador no longer wants to talk about the massive leak of emails from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena).

The president has reached a point of exhaustion after the journalistic investigations based on the

carried out by the Guacamaya organization and which have remained on the public agenda for three weeks.

The president has come out this Tuesday once again in defense of the Armed Forces and has once again downplayed the information that has been disclosed.

“They would like us to help them make a big deal about the issue, which was a resounding failure,” he declared at his

press conference .

"Look for another matter, that didn't work anymore," López Obrador commented after a reporter's question in Tamaulipas, at a press conference in which the head of Sedena, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, was also present.

The president called the revelations from the leaked six terabytes a "dirty war."

Journalistic investigations have uncovered espionage operations against journalists, activists, official and opposition politicians, civil society organizations and social movements.

They have brought to light allegations of sexual abuse within the Army, public omissions about the president's state of health, sensitive communications and disagreements between the government portfolios and with the United States authorities, and have unveiled plans to continue propping up the leading role of the Sedena as a kind of "supersecretariat" in the López Obrador Administration.

"They are not going to find anything," said the president after the largest cyber attack that a government entity in Mexico has suffered.

The revelations have provoked outrage among members of civil organizations, the Catholic Church and politicians.

They have sneaked into the negotiating table with the United States, whose officials have acknowledged their "concern" about the leak of information.

And it has brought questions about the role of the Armed Forces, at a time when the Government of López Obrador redoubled its commitment to prolong the presence of the Army in security tasks for more years, through constitutional reform.

López Obrador has rejected that there will be consequences within his Administration and has ruled out taking action against the group of

.

Sandoval has also declined to appear before Congress to explain what happened.

The opposition National Action Party and the Institutional Revolutionary Party have decided, for their part, to remain on the sidelines and respect the weight of the Armed Forces in the country, one of the most respected institutions with the greatest popular support.

Beyond the political implications, the Sedena has not given an answer about the impact of the leak on the National Security front and what actions were taken to shield the military body from new attacks.

In the

which has passed through the hands of dozens of journalists, there is information on ongoing operations against organized crime and personal data of thousands of people.

The president has resorted to a usual formula to discard the issues that he does not want to position in the public debate: "It's politicking."

Continuing with the matter, López Obrador has said, "is wanting to get hooked on what my adversaries, the conservatives, are up to."

And then he has ironized to settle the issue: "The macaw has already become a buzzard."

For the rest, in a Cabinet that has had at least a dozen relays in key positions, from Education and Environment to the Interior and Finance, the head of Sedena stands firm.

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