UNDER PRESSURE, CALDERON TALKS OF POLICE SHAKEUPS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002681 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM MX SUBJECT: UNDER PRESSURE, CALDERON TALKS OF POLICE SHAKEUPS ¶1. (U) Summary: Reacting to growing public and political pressure to achieve results in the fight against organized crime and violence in Mexico, President Calderon signaled that the removal of a senior Public Security official was part of a stepped up effort to revitalize the leadership of national law enforcement and take on the fight "with greater determination." In comments to reporters, however, Calderon was careful to give no indication of a shakeup of senior law enforcement or cabinet officials. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Since Saturday's series of public marches in Mexican cities which drew tens of thousands out in protest to demand better results (Septel),recent days have seen setbacks for the president in terms of public optics over the issue of crime. Beginning to distance themselves from the government in the advent of next year's legislative elections, senior PRI legislators, including Senate leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones and Chamber leader Emilio Gamboa, sharpened their criticism of Calderon's overall approach, chiding him for poor management of his security cabinet and saying they would call both the Attorney General (PGR) and Public Security Secretary (SSP) to address Mexico's congress to give an account of their activities. ¶3. (U) A poll released on September 1 by the daily Reforma showed that support for Calderon's handling of counter-narcotics and security issues had slipped during the last six months, with 48 percent of those surveyed expressing unfavorable views of his handling of the war against the cartels in late August -- up from 36 percent saying they believed he was doing a poor job in March. Disapproval of his handling of public security in general jumped from 36 percent to 45 percent during the same period. ¶4. (U) Calderon's annual report to congress (for the first time hand-delivered by his Secretary of Government instead of read aloud by the president) did little to give him the public affairs edge. Media criticized the document for its lack of specificity with regards to violence. Mexico City daily El Excelsior, for example, claimed that the document had downplayed narco-violence by ignoring the nearly 3000 Mexicans killed in narco-violence this year, including close to 400 military and police officials. The same day of the report, a high profile NGO, the Public Security Citizens Council, complained that the 75-point agreement reached in August by Mexico's executive branch, the legislature and state government representatives contained few concrete goals for curbing kidnappings in Mexico -- which have once again become the focus of much public angst here -- and called on the government to eradicate the crime within four years. ¶5. (SBU) Calderon leaned forward to respond. On Tuesday he confirmed the replacement of Roberto Campa, director of the National Public Security System with Ricardo Marquez Blas, the section's operations manager. Saying that he was taking on the "re-vitalization" of Mexico's public security institutions, Calderon would not rule out further personnel changes within law enforcement institutions, but said a cabinet shuffle was not in the offing at this point. He gave no indication that SSP head Garcia Luna, with whom there has been a fair amount of frustration among other senior law enforcement and security officials, was vulnerable. ¶6. (U) The president, however, said he was aware of reports of poor coordination between PGR and SSP and said that he had instructed his two senior law enforcement officials to do a better job communicating and coordinating with each other. ¶7. (SBU) Campa's departure from National Public Security was probably an idea whose idea had come, say mission law enforcement specialists. The job entailed coordinating the federal government's effort to establish uniform standards among Mexico's many state and local police entities and bring local cops into four regional training centers. According to many law enforcement contacts, the effort has been under-funded and anemic since its inception. In particular, military leaders, who have had to deploy their forces to plug the breach, have criticized the institution for its failure to sharpen police skills. ¶8. (U) A 2006 presidential candidate for a small political party, the New Alliance, Campa was considered by many to have been a politically motivated pick for the job. "He has no public security experience, strategy or policy," one UNAM crime specialist told reporters. His successor, Roberto Marquez, has longstanding law enforcement credentials, having held positions within SSP for the bulk of his career. Politicians from both the PAN and opposition parties said they hoped the change would have a salutary effect on coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement. MEXICO 00002681 002 OF 002 ¶9. (SBU) Comment: Clearly under pressure to show results, Calderon has begun by underscoring ongoing efforts to improve leadership and management of the nation's top law enforcement institutions. Campa was ripe for replacement, and Calderon hinted that there would be more to come. As July's shakeup within PGR indicated, senior police officials are under pressure to sideline bad or ineffectual law enforcement officials, and we can expect more resignations in coming weeks. End Comment. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / GARZA