Spain fires intelligence chief amid phone hacking scandals

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s government has fired the director of the country’s top intelligence agency following the hacking of politicians’ cellphones. The National Intelligence Center, or CNI, has been under fire for its role in spying on Catalan separatists. The agency also has faced criticism for taking a full year to discover that the handsets of the prime minister and other leading government officials were infiltrated with Pegasus spyware. Defense Minister Margarita Robles, who was among the hacking targets, announced after Cabinet meeting that Paz Esteban would be relieved as CNI director. Esteban’s replacement will be Esperanza Casteleiro, “a woman who has worked for almost 40 years” at the intelligence agency, Robles said.