MEXICO'S ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY BE ON HIS WAY OUT

222816 2009-08-28 16:17:00 09MEXICO2556 Embassy Mexico CONFIDENTIAL VZCZCXRO3654 RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM DE RUEHME #2556/01 2401617 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 281617Z AUG 09 FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8061 INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002556 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NSC FOR RESTREPO. WHA FOR DAS JACOBSON AND MEX DIRECTOR LEE. E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX SUBJECT: MEXICO'S ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY BE ON HIS WAY OUT Classified By: Confidential by Political Minister Gustavo Delgado. Reason: 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Attorney General (PGR) Eduardo Medina Mora, oft-rumored to be up for replacement, appears to be on his way out of PGR. Marisela Morales Ibanez, head of the PGR's anti-organized crime unit, SIEDO, told a DOJ, ATF, and ICE delegation that the GOM will announce the change the week of August 31. Oscar Rocha, Medina Mora's close aide, also told Emboffs that "this time, the rumors are true." Emboffs with PGR contacts say that President Calderon may be looking to replace Medina Mora with an Attorney General more connected to the PAN party and more loyal to him personally -- Medina Mora was never considered a hardcore PANista. Others have said that the President is looking for a leader with better relationships with the states, perhaps perceiving a disconnect between the implementation of justice reforms and prosecution of the counternarcotics fight between the two levels of government. ¶3. (C) The GOM has not yet indicated who might replace Medina Mora -- the Senate also will have to confirm the President's pick -- but speculation on potential candidates has centered on Assistant Attorney General and Director of International Affairs Juan Miguel Alcantara Soria. Alcantara is a long-time associate of President Calderon and militantly PANista. He has served as the Attorney General for Guanajuato State, a two-time federal deputy (acting as vice-coordinator of the PAN bloc one term) and as a delegate to the state legislature. He has also taught law and worked as a lawyer in the private sector. Alcantara did graduate work at the Complutense University and Ortega and Gasset University Institute in Madrid, and is close to Medina Mora from their days in university together in Mexico. According to Emboffs, he currently lives in Medina Mora's house. Alcantara does not speak English and comes across as unassuming and unpolished. Embassy law enforcement officials say they have had less interaction with him than other high-level PGR officials, and that he lacks the gravitas of Medina Mora. Emboffs who have personally interacted with Alcantara say that he has a highly intelligent legal mind. He is pro-American and has had close professional contact with U.S. diplomats over the years. He is married and has at least two teenage children. ¶4. (C) Rocha told Emboffs that the second most likely candidate is the Secretary of Government for Baja California State, Jose Francisco Blake Mora. Blake Mora is a PAN stalwart and considered close to Calderon. He was a Baja state and federal deputy. He became close to Calderon in the latter post, during which time the President was the PAN Chamber coordinator. Blake Mora ran Calderon's 2006 presidential campaign in Baja, and is currently serving as Secretary of Government in the PAN administration of Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Milan. The Tijuana Consulate says that many observers consider him the "real Governor," controlling appointments to the state apparatus and making key decisions. He is a controversial figure who will alienate factions within his own party to further his personal political positions, and his brash style of politics has created rifts within the local PAN party. The Consulate reports rumors in Tijuana indicating that Blake Mora will move to PGR and that he already has put "his people" in place there. A local respected newspaper known for exposing corruption, "Las Zetas," published unproven accusations that Blake Mora used public funds for personal weekend vacations, to which he has never responded. ¶5. (C) Morales Ibanez is also reportedly on the shortlist and has excellent ties to USG interlocutors. She has worked in the Mexico City government, as a federal prosecutor, and as head of the Narcotics Investigations Unit. Oscar Rocha and an August 19 report in Mexico City daily, "El Universal" name Arturo Chavez Chavez, a former Chihuahua State prosecutor, as another potential candidate. ¶6. (C) Comment. While not without critics, Medina Mora is a critical partner in USG efforts to combat organized crime, implement Merida Initiative programs, and help clean up the corruption-riddled PGR. In the wake of 9/11 and the MEXICO 00002556 002 OF 002 development of the US-Mexico Smart Border Accord, Medina Mora emerged as the Fox administration's point man on bilateral security and terrorism. Eight years later, he is still at it and the work, both in CISEN and PGR, has taken a personal toll on the normally ebullient "gringo handler." He told Charge that he is tired, but never intimated he was ready to go. If Medina Mora leaves PGR, several members of his team may also depart. Bilateral progress on some initiatives, could temporarily stall. Regardless of who might follow Medina Mora as Attorney General, the Embassy team remains well placed to continue the excellent operational cooperation we have developed with PGR over the past two administrations. 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 / FEELEY