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222816
2009-08-28 16:17:00
09MEXICO2556
Embassy Mexico
CONFIDENTIAL

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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