New Faces

Felipe Calderón has relieved Jorge Tello Peón of his post as executive secretary of the National System of Public Security, replacing him with Juan Miguel Alcántara. Tello Peón will continue serving as an advisor to the national security cabinet.

Tello Peón was brought into Los Pinos in October of 2008 amid much fanfare. At the time, Jorge Fernández Menéndez wrote:

Jorge Tello Peón is perhaps not only the most respected national security specialist inside and outside of the country, but also the man that, with a complete team and, as a result, very clear political direction, provided the best results to the Mexican state in those difficult tasks.

While in the job, however, Tello Peón was virtually invisible, either because he was more comfortable working behind the scenes, or, what seems more likely now, because he was marginalized. Whatever the case, Fernández's high hopes never became a reality.