President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed to press that she was a victim of a cyberattack as one of her old cellphones as well as an email that she no longer uses were hackedsoon after completing the extradition process of 29 high-profile prisoners wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking and other charges.
Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday the account, first brought up by The New York Times in a March 14 article, which highlighted her relationship with President Donald Trump and her foreign policy strategy to deal with Trump's tariff threats.
"Yes, they hacked my phone and one of my email accounts," Sheinbaum told reporters. "Apple immediately called Mexico's Digital Transformation Agency, who are the ones that found out about the cyberattack, who took action on the matter and then reviewed it," she added.
According to Infobae Mexico, Sheinbaum's phone that was hacked was a gift from Campeche Governor Layda Sansores, who gave Sheinbaum the phone back in 2008 as she had mentioned her old phone had many signal issues when making calls.
"I used to work for the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and I used to buy phone credit, but once I ran out people were not able to communicate with me," Sheinbaum recounted. "That is when Layda told me 'I am going to give you this phone and I am going to pay for it so you don't have any more issues,'" Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum said she kept the same cellphone and phone number even after being elected as Mexico City Mayor in 2018, which citizens then used to communicate with her. She added that even though she has not used the phone in a long time, she kept it as a memento and a reminder of her political career.
According to the article published by The New York Times, Sheinbaum's cellphone was hacked soon after handing over 29 prisoners to the U.S., including high-profile names such as Rafael Caro Quintero and the Treviño Morales brothers.
The attack took place sometime around Feb. 28, when Mexican authorities announced the extraditions of 29 prisoners requested by the U.S. government as part of the deal to halt the 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports suggested by President Donald Trump which were set to start on March 4. In exchange for delaying the 25% tariffs on Mexican imported goods, President Trump insisted that Mexico further crack down on cartels, illegal immigration and fentanyl production.
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