Mexican president to offer ports chief top security post

Rodriguez would face a daunting task, with homicides reaching record levels on Lopez Obrador's watch in spite of his pledge when he took office in December 2018 to reduce violence. Security minister Alfonso Durazo is stepping down to run for the governorship of the northern state of Sonora in 2021.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday he will offer Rosa Icela Rodriguez, a former journalist who is currently in charge of the country's ports, the post of security minister to replace the outgoing incumbent.

Speaking during a regular morning news conference, Lopez Obrador said he did not yet know whether Rodriguez would accept, because she was still recovering from COVID-19. Rodriguez would face a daunting task, with homicides reaching record levels on Lopez Obrador's watch in spite of his pledge when he took office in December 2018 to reduce violence.

Security minister Alfonso Durazo is stepping down to run for the governorship of the northern state of Sonora in 2021. Before running the ports, Rodriguez served as interior minister for the local Mexico City government, which is controlled by Lopez Obrador's ruling party.

Mexico has been blighted by chronic gang violence for years, with successive governments failing to make headway on the problem. A record 34,600 murders were registered last year and homicides rose again in the first half of 2020. Durazo has argued that bringing about a lasting reduction in Mexico's murder levels would take time as the government works to tackle poverty and other root causes of crime.

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