Mexico City, Mexico - As if Felipe Calderón Hinojosa's presidency was not controversial enough, now another somewhat worrisome situation has come to light. Apparently, part of the Merida Initiative, which was signed in 2007 and tentatively purposed to support the war on drugs, is a contract with Verint Systems, the same company that sold spy gear to the United States, that grants access to Mexico communications through the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) and the Attorney General.

This contract allows the use of a communications intercept system in national territory, which encompasses the reception, processing, analysis and storage of phone calls and web services, chat, email, and internet calls. And the contract remains in force, as its latest update was made on April 22 of this year under Enrique Peña Nieto's presidency.

The Verint System equipment, used by the United States in Mexico, stores 25,000 hours and 60 calls simultaneously, giving the U.S. government access to communications generated in Mexico. According to the contract, the team is permitted to intercept calls made on the Telmex, Telcel (TDMA/GSM), Sprint (iDEIM/GSM), Telefonica, Unefon, and Iusacell (CDMA/TDMA), VoIP, and Cisco Systems networks, as well as Prodigy and other internet service providers' data packages.

It's no secret that, for the past five years, the International Narcotics Affairs Office and the U.S. Department of State have been funding this interception system that monitors and records private phone calls in Mexico.

However, a number of contracts awarded during 2012 and 2013 reveal details on how this system has become a key part in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism between Mexico and the United States. According to a document from the U.S. State Department, the number of "listening stations" in Mexico has increased from 30 to 107 since the contract was renewed on April 22.

On July 10, President Enrique Peña Nieto asked the Standing Committee commissioners to approve a request to Barack Obama's government that calls for "Urgent and precise explanations" in regards to spying on Mexican diplomatic officials and, considering that these activities violate national security and the privacy of the Mexican people, that they "immediately cease these actions."

Furthermore, according to the text that was submitted to the full Standing Committee, the petition categorically rejects "any action that violates the privacy, protection of personal data, or security of the Mexican population, or undermines the sovereignty that protects the diplomatic representatives of Mexico."