Mexico’s Attorney General announced on Tuesday that an investigation has been opened ex officio into the alleged payment of a multimillion-dollar bribe to former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto by two Israeli businessmen to secure the sale of spyware software.

The Israeli newspaper The Marker reported last Friday that, amid a legal dispute, two businessmen claimed to have handed the former president $25 million in exchange for being awarded contracts to purchase the Pegasus software.

The ex-president (2012-2018) dismissed the allegations as “completely false” in a message on social media platform X.

“We have opened an investigation file,” Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said during the usual press conference held by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

“We will request that Israeli authorities share this media-based information so that we can include it in the investigation,” Gertz added.

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On Monday, in an interview with Radiofórmula, Peña Nieto reiterated that the accusation is “a completely baseless insinuation.”

The reports link the businessmen to the sale of Pegasus, a spyware associated with espionage scandals in Colombia, Mexico, and other countries.

In an unprecedented shift, the number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border dropped by 92% in June compared to the same month last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Only 6,070 people were intercepted along the southwest border—marking the lowest figure in a quarter century. This sharp decline signals a new chapter in the region’s migration history.

The “crackdown on irregular migration” in the United States—as described by International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director Amy Pope—has triggered a domino effect across several Latin American countries. However, Pope does not consider this to be an isolated case. “What we are seeing in the U.S. is similar to what’s happening globally when there is a demand for migrants,” she told DW, warning of the labor and social consequences this situation is generating.

Regional Trends Reflect the Shift

Panama and Honduras are two clear examples of the regional impact. In the Darién Gap—a historic migration route to the north—migration fell by 99.7% in April 2025 compared to April 2024, according to Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino. Authorities even shut down the main migrant station in the area.

Honduras also recorded a drastic drop in northbound migration. According to an IOM report, only 14,270 people set out between January and March 2025, compared to 133,518 during the same period in 2024.

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At the same time, so-called “reverse migration” is increasing: individuals, discouraged or without resources, are choosing to return to their countries of origin. In Colombia, more than 9,000 migrants have crossed back through the Darién Gap so far this year, according to the country’s Office of the Ombudsman.

The U.S. government on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Mexico for sending firefighters to assist in rescue efforts following the devastating floods in Texas, which have left over a hundred people dead.

“We are grateful to our regional partners, including our friends and neighbors in Mexico, who have generously sent brave firefighters and members of their water rescue and civil protection teams to support the search and rescue operations in Kerrville, Texas,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce during a press briefing.

The floods struck last Friday in the region known as Hill Country, just outside San Antonio, ahead of a holiday weekend filled with outdoor activities to celebrate the Fourth of July, U.S. Independence Day.

In response to the tragedy, Mexico deployed a team of firefighters from the border city of Ciudad Acuña in Coahuila.

Local authorities reported Tuesday that the death toll in south-central Texas has reached 109.

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The hardest-hit area is Kerr County, where 87 bodies have been recovered. Among the victims are 56 adults and 30 children, with the age of one victim yet to be confirmed.

The county sheriff stated that five girls and a female counselor remain missing. They were staying at Mystic, a Christian summer camp, where at least 27 campers died after the Guadalupe River overflowed.