ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Federal News Radio
01April2011 9:05amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: MEXICO CITY (AP) - President Felipe Calderon accepted the resignation Thursday of an attorney general known mainly for his weak image in a country fighting a drug war and nominated his top organized crime prosecutor as a successor, the first woman to hold the post if she is approved.
Arturo Chavez Chavez, the second attorney general to resign under Calderon, said he was leaving to "attend to urgent personal issues." The move came just three weeks after a leaked diplomatic said U.S. Embassy officials found his appointment in 2009 "politically inexplicable."
"The attorney general's office has been one of the weakest spots in Calderon's strategy in battling organized crime," said Andrew Selee, director of the Washington-based Mexico Institute. "There have been very few successful prosecutions against organized crime groups, those who launder their money and the public authorities who aid and abet them."
In nominating Marisela Morales, Calderon said the current head of the organized crime special investigations unit "enjoys prestige inside and outside the country." (read full report)
