CALDERON'S SECURITY CABINET

89055
2006-12-11 21:41:00
06MEXICO6871
Embassy Mexico
CONFIDENTIAL
06MEXICO6571|06MEXICO6604|06MEXICO6656
VZCZCXRO2139
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #6871/01 3452141
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 112141Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4541
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USNORTHCOM
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 006871

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MELLE AND EISSENSTAT
STATE FOR INR/B
STATE FOR WHA/MEX, WHA/EPSC
HHS FOR OGHA--STEIGER AND VALDEZ
INTERIOR FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS--WASHBURN; FWS, NPS, AND
NMFS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MX
SUBJECT: CALDERON'S SECURITY CABINET

REF: A. MEXICO 6656

B. MEXICO 6604

C. MEXICO 6571

Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR CHARLES V. BARCLAY,
REASONS: 1.4(B/D).


1. (SBU) Felipe Calderon security cabinet appointments, made
the day before his December 1 presidential inauguration,
include: Guillermo Galvan Galvan as Secretary of Defense,
Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza as Secretary of Navy, Genaro
Garcia Luna as Secretary of Public Security, and Eduardo
Medina Mora as Attorney General. These appointments
completed Calderon's naming of the new Mexican Cabinet.
Calderon announced his political cabinet selections on
November 29 (ref A),social cabinet selections on November 24
(ref B),and economic cabinet selections on November 20 (ref
C). Biographies of the security cabinet members follow.

Guillermo Galvan Galvan, Secretary of Defense (SEDENA)
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) General Guillermo Galvan Galvan is a former head of
the presidential guard (Estado Mayor Presidencial) and has
been Deputy Secretary of Defense since March 2004. He was
the commander of the First Corps of the National Army,
military attachQ at the Mexican Embassy to Spain, and
Director of the Army College. Born in 1953, he holds a
Master's in National Security and Defense from the College of
National Defense and a Bachelor's in Military Administration
from the Mexican War College. General Galvan's appointment
appears to signal Calderon's wish to preserve continuity in
the army. He is considered well-disposed towards the U.S.
and speaks English fluently.

Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza, Secretary of Navy (SEMAR)
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza has served
in the Mexican navy for 47 years, having held numerous
command positions, including Commander of both the Navy's
Pacific and Gulf forces. He was also commanding director of
the Center of Superior Naval Studies (CESNAV),served as
Mexico's Naval Attache to both the U.S. and U.K., and was the
Director of Security and Social Services of the Federal
Forces Institute. Born in 1942, he holds a degree in
geographic engineering and did advanced studies in national
security at CESNAV. Admiral Saynez, who had a troubled
relationship with the previous Secretary of the Navy, was a
surprise choice and emerged as Calderon's selection after the
press alleged that the front-runner's wife had family
connections to narco-traffickers. Admiral Saynez is
considered well-disposed towards the U.S. and speaks English
fluently.

Eduardo Medina Mora Icaza: Attorney General (PGR)
-------------- --------------


4. (U) Head of Public Safety (SSP) in the outgoing Fox
cabinet, Calderon named Eduardo Medina Mora Attorney General
of the Republic (PGR),Mexico's top law enforcement job. His
primary challenge will be combating narco-trafficking and
organized crime. Medina Mora is the only minister whose
appointment has to be confirmed by the Senate; he was
confirmed and sworn-in on Thursday, December 7.


5. (U) Prior to serving as Secretary of Public Safety, Medina
Mora was director of Mexico's intelligence agency CISEN
(Centro de Investigacion y Seguridad Nacional) from December
2000 to September 2005. He has also held posts both in the
public and private sector including Assistant Director of
Grupo DESC (Desarollo Economico, S.C.); Corporate Director of
Strategic Planning at DESC; attorney, Medina Mora and
Associates; Coordinator of Assessors for the Undersecretary
of Fisheries; Head of the Department of Promotion and
Marketing at CONASUPO; advisor to the NAFTA negotiating team;
legal advisor to the National Agriculture and Fisheries
Board; and National Advisor to the Business Coordinating

MEXICO 00006871 002 OF 003


Council. As Secretary of Public Safety, Medina Mora was
MexicoQ,s lead on the Technical Secretariat of the Alliance
for the Mexico-US Border, in addition to the Top-Level
Mexico-Guatemala and Mexico-Belize Border Safety Groups. He
was also a principal negotiator of the North American
Security and Prosperity Partnership treaty between the U.S.,
Mexico, and Canada.


6. (SBU) Born on January 30, 1957 in Mexico City, Medina Mora
graduated from UNAM with a law degree and is a member of the
Mexican College of Attorneys, as well as the American Bar
Association.


7. (SBU) Comment: Medina Mora is well- and favorably known
to the law enforcement agencies represented at post, as well
as to many Washington actors, from his terms during the Fox
Administration at SSP and CISEN. He is fluent -- if hesitant
-- in English and has an easy manner in business settings.
End Comment.

Genaro Garcia Luna: Secretary of Public Safety (SSP)
-------------- --------------


8. (U) Calderon replaced Medina Mora as Secretary of Public
Security with a law enforcement and security service
official, Genaro Garcia Luna, who was Director of the Agency
for Federal Investigations (AFI) from its creation in 2001.
Garcia Luna was named Director General for Planning and
Operations of the Federal Judicial Police (PJF) in December

2000. He helped devise a reorganization plan to transform
the PJF force (highly tainted by corruption) into AFI
(Agencia Federal de Investigaciones, a hybrid combination of
FBI and DEA functions under one roof),a professional,
investigative police force that operates under the Attorney
General's office -- the name change became official in
November 2001. Before AFI, from 1998-2000 Garcia Luna served
as General Coordinator of Intelligence for Crime Prevention
in the Federal Preventive Police (PFP),a component of the
Public Safety Secretariat. He also served as Technical
Secretary on the Prevention of Arms, Explosives, and

SIPDIS
Munitions Trafficking Subcommittee to the Mexico-U.S. High
Level Contact Group. From 1989-1998 he worked for the
Mexico's intelligence agency (CISEN) where he served as
Coordinator for the Terrorism Investigation Unit. In 1989,
he was promoted at CISEN to Deputy Director of Protection;
Head of the Department of Technical Investigations, Office of
Technical Services; and Investigator for the Office of
Foreign Affairs.


9. (U) Born on July 10, 1968 in Mexico City, Garcia Luna is a
graduate of the Autonomous Metropolitan University, where he
earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a
Master's degree in Business Administration from the Instituto
de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.


10. (C) Comment: Garcia Luna has been a trusted liaison,
partner and friend of the FBI since his days at the PFP. He
is a "big picture guy" and strategist, approaching issues and
problems like the engineer that he is. His personal
reputation is very good, however that of some of his
underlings has not been as favorable. Embassy interlocutors
describe Garcia Luna's personality as intense. His Spanish
is often mumbled and spoken at a staccato rate and hard to
understand even for native speakers; his English capabilities
are negligible. His attitude toward the U.S. is friendly.


11. (C) Comment continued: Garcia Luna and Medina Mora are
close personally and politically. Having both of them at the
top of the civilian security structure should help maintain
the excellent cooperation that the USG law enforcement
agencies enjoyed with the Fox administration. Both men have
been strong advocates of the need for significant
restructuring of the federal police structure; Garcia Luna
even wrote a book about it. End Comment.


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