Spanish security company UC Global, S.L. allegedly spied for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the meetings held in 2018 between former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and leaders of several Latin American countries, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2023) Spanish security company UC Global, S.L. allegedly spied for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the meetings held in 2018 between former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and leaders of several Latin American countries, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday.
Citing a court-ordered examination of data from the computer of UC Global owner David Morales, the newspaper said that the security company spied, in particular, during Correa's meetings with the former presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
An external hard drive on Morales's laptop, which was seized by the police after his arrest in 2019, showed the name "CIA" popping up several times among the archived files concerning projects and operations in which the company had been involved, the newspaper said.
Correa, Ecuador's president from 2007-2017, reportedly hired UC Global to handle security at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sheltered at the time. Morales allegedly ended up arranging surveillance not only of Assange but also of Correa. Moreover, UC Global allegedly installed Trojan viruses on smartphones of Correa's two daughters, who were studying in France at the time, to wiretap their calls and texts.
A judicial investigation suggests that the owner of UC Global likely worked for more than one patron, offering information to the highest bidder. According to documentation obtained by El Pais, his clients included the government of Correa's successor and political rival, Lenin Moreno, who was president from 2017-2021.
