Televisa's fake news team - Aristegui Noticias

April 28, 2025

Grupo Televisa, Mexico’s largest television network, operates a special unit dedicated to fabricating fake news and attacking competitors, those the group perceives as enemies, and to favor certain political interests — according to a massive investigation published by Aristegui Noticias.

The investigation is based on a massive leak of over five terabytes of internal files, which show how the company — considered a leader in Spanish-language content production — has operated behind the scenes to either bolster or attempt to destroy reputations. Dubbed “Palomar,” the clandestine team orchestrated and carried out attacks against figures including businessman Carlos Slim, Supreme Court justices, politicians at various levels, and journalists — among them, journalist Carmen Aristegui herself.

Palomar is tasked with boosting or destroying reputations using fake social media accounts and manipulating images, audio, and video to harm or discredit, according to the company’s interests, reports Aristegui Noticias.

Mexico

• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called for part of a telecommunications bill rushed through Congress to be changed or eliminated, after critics said the legislation could limit free speech and permit government censorship. "If it's causing confusion and people think it's about censorship, that has never been the goal. In any case, the article should be removed or its wording modified to make it absolutely clear that the government of Mexico is not going to censor anyone, especially not what is published on digital platforms," she said. (Reuters)

• For the Mexico Political Economist, “in a country where the government tends to control the day to day political agenda, for once, Mexico’s weak opposition made itself heard.”

• Latin America Risk Report: “Mexico is the immediate big loser of the trade war, likely in a recession already. And yet, somewhat paradoxically, Mexico’s geography gives it a significant advantage in any rewiring of global trade despite the various tariffs and restrictions the Trump administration imposes. Across the coming years, they could turn out to be a relative winner.”

Regional Relations

• U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded free transit for U.S. commercial and military ships through the Panama and Suez canals, tasking secretary of state Marco Rubio with making progress “immediately,” reports AFP.

• “How Republicans embraced El Salvador and made it a political stage” - The Hill

• Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that he sees greater momentum for ratification of the long-delayed trade agreement between the Mercosur trade bloc and the European Union as geopolitical and trade tensions grow, reports Reuters.

Brazil

• Amid an escalating trade war with the US, China has turned to Brazil for more agricultural imports, and April has seen a significant rise in soybean shipments from the South American country, reports the South China Morning Post.

• Gold traders in Brazil must now prove that they get their metal from legal sources, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that closes a significant legal loophole exploited by organized crime, reports InSight Crime.

Colombia

• Efforts to protect and integrate the millions of displaced persons in Colombia are threatened by reduced funding to the UNHCR. “The consequences of the funding gap are being acutely felt in the conflict-ridden Catatumbo region along Colombia’s border with Venezuela. Recent clashes between non-State armed groups have forcibly displaced over 63,000 people in what is now the largest incident of mass displacement ever registered in Colombia’s history. Despite its humanitarian coordination role in the area, UNHCR has had to halt the distribution of basic relief items such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and mosquito nets even though violence continues.” (Via Americas Migration Briefing.)

• Colombian President Gustavo Petro took aim at the head of International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, referencing “vampires,” after the lender paused his nation’s access to its $8.1 billion flexible credit line, reports Bloomberg.

Argentina

• The latest IMF loan to Argentina — $20 billion, with an unusually large $12 billion upfront — went against the organization’s board concerns, reports Bloomberg. “The deal, some felt, was muscled through by the Fund’s management, according to three people familiar with the matter. Some were left with the feeling that the decision was driven more by politics than policy — sowing concern about the precedent that’s been set.”

• Peronist politicians in Argentina accused IMF head Kristalina Georgieva of electoral interference after she urged Argentina to “stay the course” in the October midterm elections. (Buenos Aires Times)

Ecuador

• Ecuador's opposition Citizens’ Revolution party filed another objection to the recent presidential election results this weekend. Ecuador's elections body denied a request from the leftist opposition to recount votes on Thursday, but the party said it handed in a new report detailing numerous irregularities, reports Reuters.

Haiti

• The Marriott Port-au-Prince Hotel — a symbol of international efforts to jumpstart Haiti’s tourism sector and reconstruct after the 2010 earthquake — will shut down this week, reports the Miami Herald. The move comes as the country’s criminal gangs “are quickly encroaching into strategic neighborhoods where key telecom and electricity installations are at risk of a takeover.”

Trinidad and Tobago

• Trinidad and Tobago is holding parliamentary elections today, described by analysts as one of the most unpredictable in decades, reports the Guardian.