New Wikileaks documents show US spied on Brazilian officials


The United States reportedly spied systematically on the communications of high level Brazilian officials other than the president, according to new information posted by Wikileaks and published Saturday.The information was released by Intercept, a new publication launched by the journalist who worked closely with US leaker Edward Snowden, and by Brazil's broadcaster GloboNews.Wikileaks published 29 telephone numbers that were targeted by the US National Security Agency (NSA). They include some of Brazil's "most important" political and financial figures, diplomats and ministers, the Intercept wrote.Revelations in 2013 that the US had spied on President Dilma Rousseff provoked a diplomatic tiff, and she cancelled a prestigious state visit to Washington.But when she met with Obama in Washington earlier this week, she called it a "relaunch" of relations and said: "Since then, some things have changed."Brazil's government spokesman Edinho Silva reinforced that message on Saturday, telling the news portal G1 that the new revelations are connected to events that have already been "overcome."Over the last two weeks, Wikileaks has also released information about US spying on top officials in the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, three French presidents and leading figures in French politics and finance.Snowden has taken refuge for two years in Russia, which had stipulated that he had to stop releasing data from the days when he spied on the NSA.