|
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Mexican Official is Fired After Report of Missing BlackBerrys
 Mark Stevenson - Associated Press
go to original
Mexico City - A press aide at the president's office has been dismissed following allegations that he took BlackBerrys belonging to U.S. officials at a summit in New Orleans, an official said Friday.
Rafael Quintero Curiel acknowledged picking up the telephone and e-mail devices at the New Orleans summit involving the leaders of Mexico, the United States and Canada this week, but said he thought they had been left behind and planned to return them.
The phones were recovered, according to White House Press Secretary Dana Marie Perino, who said she did not know if they contained sensitive information.
A Mexican government spokeswoman said Quintero Curiel had been dismissed from his year-old job coordinating logistics for reporters covering President Felipe Calderon's international trips. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to talk to the media about the case.
Participants at summits often are asked to leave their cell phones on a table outside meeting rooms to avoid distractions or as a security measure.
In Washington, Perino said on Thursday that "an individual from the Mexican delegation or a staff member was involved in these BlackBerrys, the disappearance of a couple of BlackBerrys."
She said "the matter is under investigation by law enforcement officials and they haven't decided yet what exactly happened, but they're working on it." It was not clear how many of the devices were taken or who they belonged to.
While Perino did not mention Quintero Curiel by name, local media reported that video surveillance cameras filmed him making off with the devices.
In a letter sent to Mexican newspapers and broadcasters, Quintero Curiel said he had picked up the phones because he thought they had been left behind. He said that as he rushed to the airport, he had given them to a driver to take back to the hotel to hand them over to management.
In the letter, he said U.S. Secret Service agents had approached him at the airport, asking him to return the BlackBerrys, but he said the agents thanked him for his help when he explained the incident.
U.S. President George W. Bush's entourage at the Monday-Tuesday meeting included Secret Service agents, policy advisers, Cabinet secretaries and other aides.
"I'm going to let the investigation take place before I comment on it," Perino said. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us