Why is Mexico Offering Russia a Safe Haven for Its Spies?

López Obrador has become a useful tool for Vladimir Putin

México is swimming against a tide of Western crackdowns on Russian espionage. While more than 600 suspected spies have been expelled from Russian embassies across Europe since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Mexican government in recent months has authorized 37 new diplomats in the Russian Embassy in Mexico City on top of the 49 already there, for a staggering 86, according to the foreign ministry´s Directory of Foreign Missions (which is no longer available to the public but I obtained). Russia currently has by far the largest diplomatic contingent than any other legation in Mexico City, including the American Embassy, which has 46 diplomats, not including diplomatic personnel in their nine consulates across the country.

A Russian regiment was invited to participate in Mexico’s Independence Day parade, outraging many Mexicans, not to mention Ukraine’s ambassador

The 60 per cent jump in the months after the invasion has no diplomatic justification for either side, considering their traditionally  low-level relationship. Mexico-Russian trade is equivalent to one day of business  between Mexico and the U.S.  But it does offer something else of high value to Moscow: a platform for espionage against the behemoth to the north. What Mexico gets out of it is another question.

It is no secret that Russia has historically used its diplomats for spying on the United States and that the Russian embassy, an imposing, walled complex in the heart of Mexico City, with large satellite dishes on the roof, has a decades-old reputation for being an espionage safe haven—more so in times of war. During the height of the Cold War, U.S. intelligence estimated that at least 150 KGB officers were working in Mexico under cover of diplomats, clerks, drivers and journalists.