Mexico's president on Wednesday (Aug. 14) criticized U.S. funding for a Mexican anti-corruption nonprofit group, and said he would send a diplomatic note to the U.S. government in protest.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador claims the group is part of the conservative opposition, and should not accept foreign funding or tax-deductible contributions.
He published detailed financial information about the group and promised to send a bill to Congress to change the rules on tax-deductible contributions.
“I think there is an open intervention by the US government in Mexican sovereign affairs,” López Obrador said.
He sent a similar letter of protest in 2021, without any apparent results.
According to documents presented at a morning press conference, about $5 million in funding for the group in recent years allegedly came from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is managed by the U.S. State Department.
López Obrador has complained about the funding for years and said he would also write to U.S. President Joe Biden, but he did so last year.
López Obrador said he would also ask prosecutors and tax authorities to investigate the donations.
The group, called Mexico Against Corruption and Impunity, denies any affiliation with any political party, although its founder has openly supported opposition candidates in the past. (ab/lt)
