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Spying: Mexico summons US Ambassador over fresh allegation

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Mexico’s foreign minister says he’s summoning the U.S. Ambassador following fresh reports of spying.

“Shared security and responsibility between respectful neighbors cannot be constructed by violating the law and violating trust,” Jose Antonio MeadeMexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said Tuesday.

“Mexico is convinced that the practice of espionage committed constitute a violation of norms, an abuse of the trust built between partnering countries and does not honor the historic friendship between our nations,” he added.

Speaking in Geneva, Meade said he would summon U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne upon his return to Mexico.

His comments come days after Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine published allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency “systematically” eavesdropped on the Mexican government and hacked the public e-mail account of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Der Spiegel named former NSA contractor Edward Snowden as the source of its information.

On Sunday, Mexico’s government said such spying would be unacceptable, illegitimate and against the law.

Meade demanded a swift investigation, noting that U.S. President Barack Obama had vowed to investigate when earlier allegations of spying surfaced in September.

“Mexico finally reiterates its confidence in the conviction of President Obama that international law is not an empty promise,” Meade said. “We are sure that the promise of an investigation made with Mexico is not either.”

“More than personal, it is an assault on the institutions of the country, given that it was done when I was the president,” Calderon said. “I will be following the steps the Foreign Ministry takes to demand explanations from the United States and the corresponding account of responsibility.”

However, the NSA said it would not “comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity, and as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.

“As the President said in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, we’ve begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share,” the agency added.

The statements were the latest sign of international fallout over apparent Snowden leaks.

And on Monday, the U.S. ambassador to France met with French diplomats over allegations the NSA intercepted more than 70 million phone calls in the European nation over a 30-day period. Those allegations were reported by France’s Le Monde newspaper, citing documents leaked by Snowden.

Snowden has admitted to leaking documents about U.S. surveillance programs and faces charges of espionage and theft of government property in the United States. He is living in Russia after receiving asylum.

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