Mexican government officials announced on February 6, 2005 that President Vicente Fox?s inner circle of confidants had been compromised by a mole who is linked to the country?s drug trafficking cartels. The mole, identified as Nahum Acosta (42), is believed to have provided drug cartels with information about Fox?s movement and travel plan around the country. Acosta has worked on Fox?s presidential travel staff, under Fox?s private secretary, since 2001. He was arrested leaving Los Pinos (the Mexican White House) on February 3 and held in an unspecified place in Mexico City. Thus far, Acosta?s specific affiliation or contact has not been released–although allegedly it was to northern Mexican narco-traffickers, as Acosta is from Sonora state, the home of many ?notorious drug traffickers?–nor has the timeframe or extend of the leak. In fact, Reuters suspected his contact was an associate of Joaquin ?El Chapo? (Shorty) Guzman , one of the most ruthless and notorious drug lords, whose gang is in Sinaloa. Similarly, The New York Times reported that authorities raided the home of Hector Beltran Leyva, a top lieutenant of Guzman.

According to Attorney General Rafael Macedo, alluding to Acosta?s criminal intent, said, ?The effort to obtain information, give it to these criminals, given the sensitivity of the information on where the president is and where he is going, where and how he is traveling, obviously it could fill many hypotheses.? To date, fears are high of a possible assassination attempt; however, no evidence of such a plot was uncovered. Acosta did, however, ?put in risk the physical well-being of the President.? Fox, in his weekly address, only said, ?We have to redouble vigilance because this conflict we have with organized crime has made them challenge the Mexican state.?