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Mexico picks first female chief of federal police

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MEXICO CITY | Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:04am EST

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has for the first time appointed a woman to head the federal police, which is under pressure to bring the country's powerful drug cartels to heel.

Maribel Cervantes replaced Facundo Rosas as commissioner general of the federal police, the Ministry for Public Security said late on Friday. Cervantes, 41, is the first woman to take on the post, a spokesman for the ministry said.

The federal police have fought the drug gangs alongside the army under the presidency of Felipe Calderon.

More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Calderon launched his crackdown in 2006 against the drug gangs, whose financial muscle has fomented corruption among the police, particularly at local level.

Cervantes, who received a degree in communication sciences, has experience in intelligence and counter-terrorism and has had military training, the ministry said.

The past year has seen a number of firsts for women in Mexico.

Marisela Morales became the first female attorney general of Mexico in March, and last weekend Josefina Vazquez Mota of Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) won her party's presidential nomination for the July 1 election.

Never before had one of the main three parties picked a woman to run for the top job in Mexico, where presidents are restricted to a single six-year term.

Calderon has staked his reputation on stamping out organized crime, but the cartel violence has undermined his party's bid to win a third straight term in power in July.

The PAN trails the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party by a wide margin in opinion polls.

(Reporting By Dave Graham; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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Comments (1)
brotherkenny4 wrote:
The illegal drug trade is a very important part of our economy. Drugs are grown and produced in foriegn countries, and imported. These countries buy products sold by american businesses(not produced here, but that’s another issue). The distributers here in the US are good consumers of guns and bling. The users are motivated to work by their desire for drugs. Even those that steal to support their habit drive the economy because those stolen from buy replacement items. The guards of prisons, the judges and lawyers, and police of this country spend much of their time working on drug or drug related crimes, and without the drug crimes many would be unneeded. Then there are those that make a living on drug rehabilitation, and the best part of that gig is that it is a disease which is never really cured and thus they need treatment forever. All in these various trades buy and spend like the good consumers they are. The main thing is that all this activity is good for business. So sure, many lives are destroyed, but that’s just an unfortunate side of the business equation. Somewhat similar to wars for oil. You know if were going to have a strong economy we have to be willing to sacrifice some people, and our business leaders are more than willing to sacrifice some of you.

Feb 11, 2012 1:08pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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