WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department remains committed to sharing with social media companies information that it picks up about efforts by foreign governments to influence this year's elections, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told a lawyers' conference on Friday.
Speaking at the American Bar Association's annual meeting, Monaco, the department's No. 2 official, said that though it's ultimately up to technology companies to decide what if any action to take, “We will provide companies with actionable intelligence so they can make decisions regarding abuse on their platforms by adversaries conducting foreign malign influence operations, including targeting our elections.”
The comments were part of a wide-ranging speech on election security in which Monaco also warned that Russia remains the primary foreign threat to elections, with Moscow targeting specific voting demographics and using encrypted direct-messaging apps to reach Americans, and sound an alarm about a rising threat of violence to public officials — including election workers.
The Justice Department in the last two years has prosecuted nearly 700 threat cases, more than half of which involved public officials.
“These threats are unacceptable. No one — no one — should endure threats of violence simply for doing their job,” Monaco said. “For the right to vote to be real for every American, election workers — who are often, after all, volunteers — must be able to do their jobs free from improper influence, physical threats, or any other conduct designed to intimidate.”
The speech was given at the ABA's Democracy Summit in Chicago, with Monaco reminding the audience of lawyers of their obligation to uphold the rule of law and promote faith in election integrity.
“Our republic depends on the operation of a free and fair electoral process — with results that are respected and with elections that are free from violence and free from foreign interference,” Monaco said.
Monaco's remarks come weeks after a Supreme Court ruling that permitted the federal government to interact with social media companies, with the justices ruling against Republican-led states who claimed federal officials leaned on the platforms to unconstitutionally squelch conservative points of view. The court said the states and other parties did not have the legal right, or standing, to sue.
The department this week also made public for the first time a series of procedures the FBI uses for deciding when to share information with social media companies about threats to their platforms. That step was encouraged in a recent report by the Justice Department inspector general.
“As we carry out this work, we will continue to keep the public updated not only about why we are doing it but also how” Monaco said.
Under the procedures, the FBI may be in touch with companies when it identifies activities on a platform being conducted by, or on behalf of, a foreign government to support an influence operation or if there are specific and credible facts showing the activity can be attributed to a foreign government.
The procedures state that the FBI must make clear that it is not asking the social media company to take any action and that the company is under no obligation to do so.
FILE - An iPhone displays the Facebook app, Aug. 11, 2019, in New Orleans. Russia, China and Iran are continuing to target voters in the U.S. with disinformation and propaganda related to the upcoming presidential election, top intelligence officials told reporters on Monday, July 29, 2024. Groups linked to the Kremlin are increasingly using private public relations firms or unwitting social media users to spread their false claims as a way to hide their tracks. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
FILE - Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco testifies during a hearing, April 19, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Justice Department is committed to sharing with social media companies information that it picks up about efforts by foreign governments to influence this year's elections, according to a speech being given by Monaco, Friday, August. 2, 2024. Monaco will say that though it's up to companies to decide what if any action to take, the department will continue to provide them with “actionable intelligence” so they can make decisions about foreign threats on their platforms. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.
Two warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel have clashed in the state capital of Culiacan in what appears to be a fight for power since two of its leaders were arrested in the United States in late July. Teams of gunmen have shot at each other and the security forces.
Meanwhile, dead bodies continued to pop up around the city. On one busy street corner, cars drove by pools of the blood leading to a body in a car mechanic shop, while heavily armed police in black masks loaded up another body stretched out on a side street of the Sinaloan city.
Asked at his morning briefing if the U.S. government was “jointly responsible” for this violence in Sinaloa, the president said, “Yes, of course ... for having carried out this operation.”
The recent surge in cartel warfare had been expected after Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, landed near El Paso, Texas on July 25 in a small plane with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
Zambada was the cartel’s elder figure and reclusive leader. After his arrest, he said in a letter circulated by his lawyer that he had been abducted by the younger Guzmán and taken to the U.S. against his will.
On Thursday afternoon, another military operation covered the north of Culiacan with military and circling helicopters.
Traffic was heavy in Culiacan and most schools were open, even though parents were still not sending their children to classes. Businesses continue to close early and few people venture out after dark. While the city has slowly reopened and soldiers patrol the streets, many families continue to hide away, with parents and teachers fearing they'll be caught in the crossfire.
“Where is the security for our children, for ourselves too, for all citizens? It’s so dangerous here, you don’t want to go outside,” one Culiacan mother told the Associated Press.
The mother, who didn't want to share her name out of fear of the cartels, said that while some schools have recently reopened, she hasn't allowed her daughter to go for two weeks. She said she was scared to do so after armed men stopped a taxi they were traveling in on their way home, terrifying her child.
During his morning news briefing, López Obrador had claimed American authorities “carried out that operation” to capture Zambada and that “it was totally illegal, and agents from the Department of Justice were waiting for Mr. Mayo.”
“If we are now facing instability and clashes in Sinaloa, it is because they (the American government) made that decision,” he said.
He added that there “cannot be a cooperative relationship if they take unilateral decisions” like this. Mexican prosecutors have said they were considering bringing treason charges against those involved in the plan to nab Zambada.
He was echoed by President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, who said later in the day that “we can never accept that there is no communication or collaboration.”
It's the latest escalation of tensions in the U.S.-Mexico relationship. Last month, the Mexican president said he was putting relations with the U.S. and Canadian embassies “on pause” after ambassadors criticized his controversial plan to overhaul Mexico's judiciary by requiring all judges to stand for election.
Still, the Zambada capture has fueled criticisms of López Obrador, who has throughout his administration refused to confront cartels in a strategy he refers to as “hugs not bullets.” On previous occasions, he falsely stated that cartels respect Mexican citizens and largely fight amongst themselves.
While the president, who is set to leave office at the end of the month, has promised his plan would reduce cartel violence, such clashes continue to plague Mexico. Cartels employ an increasing array of tactics, including roadside bombs or IEDs, trenches, home-made armored vehicles and bomb-dropping drones.
Last week, López Obrador publicly asked Sinaloa's warring factions to act “responsibly” and noted that he believed the cartels would listen to him.
But the bloodshed has only continued.
National Guard and Army forces patrol during an operation in a neighborhood of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A police officer photographs a crime scene of bodies lying on the ground in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)
Police watch forensics remove bodies from a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
Bodies lie on the ground in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
Soldiers and police arrive at the area where bodies lie on the ground in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
Police work in the area where bodies lie on the ground in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
National Guard forces and Army soldiers patrol during an operation in a neighborhood of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A person operates a leaf blower on the courtyard of the temporarily closed Lazaro Cardenas elementary school, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A resident pedals his bicycle past the temporarily closed Lazaro Cardenas elementary school, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Sinaloa state Gov. Ruben Rocha, center, participates in an annual earthquake drill in Culiacan, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Schools and businesses in Culiacan, Mexico, are closed and security has been increased as violent clashes play out between factions of the Sinaloa cartel. (AP Graphic)
Forensic investigators remove a body from the street in La Costerita, Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Forensic investigators remove a body from the street in La Costerita, Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Crime scene investigators work at the site where a body was found lying on a street in La Costerita neighborhood of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Forensic investigators work at the site of a body lying in the street in La Costerita, Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Soldiers cordon off a neighborhood during an operation in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
The dead body of man, his arm marked with a tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe, lies covered on a street in La Costerita neighborhood of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
