Pegasus, Peña Nieto, and the Echo from Jerusalem: A Transnational Scandal Resurfaces
According to legal documents filed in Israel, two businessmen—Avishai Neriah and Uri Ansbacher—claim to have paid approximately $25 million USD to Peña Nieto.
By Adal Rodríguez | The Border Gazette
While most eyes are fixed on upcoming elections and the uncertainty of what’s next, some ghosts from the past refuse to rest. This week, Israeli financial outlet The Marker unearthed a dark chapter from the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto—one that may only now be revealing its true scope.
According to legal documents filed in Israel, two businessmen—Avishai Neriah and Uri Ansbacher—claim to have paid approximately $25 million USD to a high-ranking figure in the Mexican government, referred to only as “the older man” or simply “N,” between 2012 and 2018. In return, they were allegedly granted privileged access to government contracts—particularly those tied to Pegasus, the infamous spyware that became a symbol of unchecked surveillance during Peña Nieto’s presidency.
While the former president’s name is not mentioned explicitly, the profile matches him with unsettling precision. And this isn’t a journalistic allegation pulled from thin air—it emerges from a religious arbitration tribunal in Jerusalem, which eventually evolved into a civil court case. What started as a financial dispute has turned into a historical, political, and ethical reckoning.
Peña Responds, But Official Silence Speaks Louder
Peña Nieto quickly took to social media to deny the accusations. In his usual style—controlled, distant, almost clinical—he flatly rejected the claims, stating he had never received money from Israeli businessmen, nor been involved in contracts related to Pegasus or any foreign tech provider.
Yet beyond the denial lies something more troubling: the resounding silence of Mexican institutions. Where is the Attorney General’s Office? Where is the Ministry of Public Administration? In a country where surveillance, secrecy, and impunity have been normalized, these revelations should not pass quietly as just another headline.
What The Marker revealed from halfway across the world demands a mirror—and not just for Peña Nieto, but for all those who knew and chose to look the other way.
Pegasus: Spyware and a Symbol of Power
Let’s not forget: Pegasus was not just a software product. It was a weapon of control. Of fear. Of silence. Journalists, human rights activists, opposition politicians—they were all targets. Back in 2017, when The New York Times first exposed the extent of its use in Mexico, the world was shocked.
Now, with this new context, the pieces fall into place. Pegasus wasn’t just a state acquisition. It was allegedly negotiated, trafficked—and, if the Israeli court documents hold true—turned into a personal business transaction worth millions.
A Religious Dispute Unveils a Global Web
That this story did not break from Washington, or from Mexico City, but from a rabbinical arbitration case in Jerusalem adds a layer of irony and intrigue. The geography of this scandal is global. It forces us to view Peña Nieto not merely as a figure of Mexican corruption, but as part of a broader geopolitical framework—a shadowy system where surveillance, international tech, and high-level deals converge across borders.
The line between public and private, between national and global, grows blurrier with every new detail.
What Happens Now?
There are no arrest warrants. No official investigations (yet). Just an inconvenient truth starting to leak from the margins—like water under a locked door.
The real question is not whether Peña Nieto will fall. It’s whether we, as a society, still have the institutional dignity to demand accountability—not for revenge, but for memory.
Because if we don’t do it—if journalists, readers, and citizens don’t speak up—no one else will.
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