C 17 6 010 4 3 U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10 1512013 ACTION INL-00 INFO LOG-00 WHA-00 TEDE-00 NSAE-00 SP-00 PRM-00 AID-00 CIAE-00 CPR-00 DNI-00 DODE-00 ANHR-00 DS-00 OIGO-00 VCI-00 DIAS-00 FRB-00 H-00 INR-00 LAB-01 ARMY-00 MOFM-00 MOF-00 VCIE-00 ISN-00 NIMA-00 PA-00 GIWI-00 ISNE-00 FMPC-00 IRM-00 SSO-00 SS-00 NCTC-00 ASDS-00 DSCC-00 DRL-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 FA-00 SWCI-00 001W ------------------01A1B0 252325Z 38 R 252224Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4125 INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC RELEASED IN PART 1 4 B B1 1 4 D DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL HQ USNORTHCOM DECONTROLLED DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC NSC WASHINGTON DC C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 003498 SENSITIVE SIPDIS REVIEW AUTHORITY Oscar Olson Senior Reviewer DEPARTMENT FOR INL E O 12958 DELL 12 21 2017 TAGS PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR KCRM MX SUBJECT CALDERON CONTINUES ANTI-CORRUPTION SWEEP REF A MEXICO 2371 B MEXICO 3321 Classified By Deputy Political Counselor James Merz Reason 1 4 b d 1 C Summary The Calderon administration's anti-corruption initiative Operation Cleanup most recently produced the arrest o£ the head of Interpol in Mexico and a former Deputy Attorney General anti-drug czar While the revelations of narco-infiltration into the upper echelons of law enforcement community have given rise to alarm in public circles they also help Calderon burnish his credentials asa leader committed to combating organized crime and corruption -- an effect that may come more into view over the longer Classification Extended on 1010912013 Declassify on 11 24 2028 Class CONFIDENTIAL a Authority DSCG 11-1 -0 UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No 017601043 Date 10 1512013 E3 C17 6010 4 3 U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10 15 2013 1 C i ltl I _ B1 1 4 D End Summary Operation Cleanup Cleaning House 2 SBU As part of the Mexican Government's anti-corruption Operation Cleanup Limpieza an ongoing investigation into information leaks by law enforcement officials to drug traffickers see reftels Rodolfo de la Guardia Garcia a former top official at AFI was placed under forty- days arrest-in-place after being taken into custody in October More recently the Director for International Police Affairs at the Federal Investigative Agency AFI and head of Interpol in Mexico Ricardo Gutierrez Vargas was similarly placed under forty -days arrest-in-place last week for his alleged links with drug cartels Interpol announced November 20 that it sent a team to Mexico to investigate the possibility that its communication systems and databases are not being used for legitimate law enforcement purposes even while the Mexican government sought to assure Interpol that no sensitive information from the international police agency's system was leaked to cartels Mexico's Interpol office or National Central Bureau is staffed and run by AFI 3 SBU In addition to these apprehensions Mexico's former head of the Attorney General's PGR Office of the Sub-Prosecutor for the Investigation of Organized Crime SIEDO Noe Ramirez Mandujano popularly regarded as Mexico's anti-drug czar was also arrested last week for his alleged involvement with cartels Ramirez had served in that position for twenty months until he resigned in July Attorney General Media Mora announced that information from a member of the Sinaloa cartel accused Ramirez o£ accepting a 450 000 USD monthly payment from the cartel in exchange for confidential information Over thirty Mexican government officials have been arrested or dismissed since July in connection with Operation Cleanup Good For President Calderon 4 C Gutierrez and Ramirez are two of the highest ranking GOM officials uncovered by Operation Cleanup demonstrating' the Calderon administration's ostensible commitment to cleaning house even as investigations encroach on the upper echelons of government UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10 15 2013 B1 1 4 D 1 C 17 6 010 4 3 U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10115 2013 4V 3 Poloff on November 24 that he was pleasantly surprised by the arrests of Gutierrez and Ramirez and opined that Calderon is hitting the right targets with Operation Cleanup said that this was the strongest anti-corruption message the president has sent so far 1 4 D 131 5 C I expects that the recent round of arrests and investigations probably will lead at the very least to more apprehensions of mid-level officials In the short term the arrests may undermine public confidence in both Calderon and Mexico's security apparatus as the extent of narco-infiltration in government is made clear suggested that in the long term however the housecleaning will help to build Calderon's track record as being truly committed to restoring the integrity of and public faith in 1 4 D Mexico's public security system Bad for Garcia Luna 6 SBU Mexican media outlets have highlighted that many of the recent investigations have been focused on officials close to Secretary of Public Security SSP Garcia Luna including Gutierrez Francisco Navarro chief of SSP's Special Operations Gerardo Garay Cadena head of the Federal Preventative Police and Mario Velarde Martinez who had served as Garcia Luna's private secretary While in Peru attending the APEC Summitp Calderon publicly expressed his confidence in Garcia Luna and said that Garcia Luna would not be the Public Security Secretary if the president had any doubts as to his abilities Calderon exhorted observers not to interpret Operation Cleanup as targeted at any one person While press sources speculate that Calderon may UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10 15 2013 C 17 6 0 10 4 3 U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No 017601043 Date 10115 2013 7a Lc ia Luna to step down it bears recalling that press and political circles have been rife with such rumors practically since Garcia Luna assumed his current post Sv ascx a Comment 9 C Calderon may be stung in the short term by a public reeling from revelations of narco-infiltration into high levels of the Mexican security apparatus In the longer term however such efforts will help him to build a reputation as being committed to combating organized crime and the cartels both inside his own house and in the country writ large 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 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2009-00597 Doc No C17601043 Date 10 15 2013