Mexican president demands apology from Washington for slanderous media reports

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador demanded an apology from the U.S. government on Thursday for "unfounded" media reports on a 2010 U.S. federal investigation linking his first presidential campaign to drug cartel donations.

"What I want is for the United States government to say something, because the president of Mexico has moral authority and political authority, and if they do not have evidence they have to apologize," Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference, calling the report's author a "mercenary" from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Earlier this week, media outlets in the United States and Germany reported on a 2010 DEA investigation into an alleged $2 million donation from a drug cartel to Lopez Obrador's unsuccessful 2006 bid for the presidency in exchange for political favors should he win.

Later on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice said the investigation into the allegations found no evidence of wrongdoing and was closed 13 years ago.

That "informal" statement was not enough to undo the potential damage from the "slander," especially just four months prior to presidential elections in Mexico, said Lopez Obrador, demanding a more formal apology from the U.S. government.

The false charges could also negatively impact bilateral ties and cooperation on such issues as immigration and drug trafficking, he said.

"U.S. President (Joe) Biden should find out about this, because how are we going to be sitting at the table talking about the fight against drugs, if one of their institutions is leaking information and harming me, not me, but what I represent," Lopez Obrador said.