Mexico, May 15th, 2022.

On the first days of the job, the Sec. of Justice (SOJ) was mainly focused on drafting his initial proposals to the President, so they could be introduced to the legislative in a cohesive manner; Alfredo based his research, initially, on tried-and-tested techniques like the U.S. tackling of organized crime and the RICO act, the Stockholm Program and the subsequent program adopted by the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU (Jan-Jun 2011).

Alfredo analyzed the adoption of Art. 416-bis, added in the Rognoni-La Torre law, and slowly deconstructed the entire Italian prosecution to organized crime – that is, the Mafia; which brought interesting points, especially due to their diversification of illegal and legal enterprises; one of the main bodies that has attracted his attention was the Direzione Nazionale Antimafia, a national police force dedicated solely to the Mafia, with district-level Anti-Mafia Directorates.

The Sec. of Justice also reviewed the assassinations of Edgar E. Bayardo and Jesús Zambada Reyes, as well as the whole debacle of Ramirez-Peyro, the 1996 Organized Crime Law, and phoned Marisela Morales Ibáñez for a thorough discussion regarding witness protection. He was also quite attentive to multiple articles related to witness’ protection and the current situation of Mexico.

All in all, between the 15th and the 25th, Alfredo worked tirelessly, up to 21 hours per day sometimes, to compile a report based on his own research on what to do in order to overhaul the situation of Mexico and create a healthy framework for the Mexican War on Drugs, and the subsequent pacification of the drug cartels that have been constantly plaguing Mexico.

The Mena Plan

Mexico needs a complete overhaul of many of its institutions in order to even begin fighting the cartels with enough efficiency that it makes a difference; it needs robust institutions, a rock-solid culture based on dedication to the war against crime, and public employees whose loyalties lie in the Republic and the ideals embodied within, not another stack of dollars.

Therefore, Mexico needs, in order of equal importance:

• The creation of a Directorate of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations;

• The creation of a Federal Office of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations;

• The complete, absolute overhaul of the Mexican Witness Program;

• The introduction of a Civil Service Exam (CSE) based on meritocratic and technocratic principles, as to ensure a corruption-free administration in the government.

All of these are extremely important to Mexico, and they all compose the framework of a robust set of pillars which can – and likely will – guide Mexico for decades, with dedicated overhauls, based on the necessities of future administrators.

The Directorate of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations.

The Directorate of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations (DANO) is heavily based on the Italian Direzione Nazionale Antimafia, and as such, contains a lot of the basic principles which guide that organization; it is subordinated to the Secretariat of Justice, with a director selected from the high-ranking men and women who compose the justice system of Mexico. Alfredo introduced the possibility for two laws which can strengthen the CSE and allow for a body of public service officials that will be ensured to not have any affiliations with political bodies nor corrupt elements of society, to be detailed briefly in a few moments.

The DANO is structured as the main body of anti-cartel prosecution, and below it is the state-level Anti-Narcotrafficking Directorates (ANDs), whose responsibility is to prosecute local narcotrafficking operations and report back to the DANO with as much information as possible; the DANO’s responsibilities are, per Alfredo’s proposal of Law. 509/2022: “to carry out, in coordinated manner, intelligence activities targeting organized crime and to conduct investigation exclusively concerning the Cartels and Cartel-related matters. DANO intelligence activities focus on the structures of criminal organizations, their national and international connections, their objectives and modes of action as well as upon any other Cartel criminal activities, including extortion.” It was, in general, paraphrased from state 410/1991 of Italy.

The DANO also possesses three different branches: preventive investigations, with a central intelligence unit (CIU), which collects and analyzes information, criminal investigations, responsible for the planning of investigative activities and coordinating police operations, and intra-police relations, responsible for collaborating with criminal investigations in increasing police cooperation, and ensuring that no corruption is present within the rank-and-file of DANO.

The Federal Office of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations

The Federal Office of Anti-Narcotrafficking Operations (FOANO) is responsible for the active prosecution of criminal cases relating to the cartels and their members; it is responsible for coordinating with the (soon to be mentioned) Federal Agency for Seized and Forfeited Goods (FASFG), and accelerating the judiciary process of prosecution of criminals, criminal entities and criminal associations within Mexico.

The director of FOANO is going to be selected in the same manner as the director of DANO, that is, through high-ranking members of the judiciary system of Mexico by the CSE, with previous screening regarding political party affiliations, ongoing investigations regarding such officials and any supposed charges of corruption, organized crime association, bribery, fraud, nepotism and criminal association.

FOANO possesses special legislative rights and duties which allows it to intervene within the judiciary system, as to accelerate and overcome delays and inefficiencies within the Mexican system and ensure the appropriate relocation of Mexican criminals to their appropriate locations, cutting out middlemen and ensuring as little corruption as possible within the process.

The Federal Witness Program

The Federal Witness Program (FWP) is based on a mix of the American and Italian systems of defending the witnesses of Mexico; it is worthwhile to mention that no numbers are being mentioned at this exact moment due to the nature of proposals and their mutability, but all of these reforms would incur hefty costs for the Mexican government, and Alfredo believes that transparency regarding these immense costs are necessary.

The FWP would be staffed under the Sec. of Justice, with the same selection process for its leadership as previously mentioned; although Alfredo heavily believes that the CSE would need to be utilized within the ranks of the FWP. One of the largest dangers of being a Mexican witness is the fact that security is not only lacking, but it is quite inexistent for the most part, and that needs to change.

Vetted, disciplined and dedicated police officers need to be on the frontlines of witness protection services; these officers need to pass the CSE and the vetting process which ensures an independent civil service; their salaries must be, at the very least, enough to dissuade them from allying themselves with Mexican drug lords, and this is going to be based on quite a few factors.

The FWP will possess a total of 4,100 federal police officers, provided with a salary of US$30,000/year, or MX$596,950; on average, Mexican police officers are paid MX$159,390/year, which means that FWP officers will be given a salary well-above the average, an increase of 274.5% in fact. This, combined with the rigorous exams, vetting and training necessary to become an officer of the FWP, means that they will be instilled with the basic concepts of anti-corruption and rigorous dedication to the Law.

The fact that Art.2-bis. of the Organized Crime Law of 1996 seeks to punish those who actively aid criminals, which can and will implicate police officers who actively endanger or willingly participate in the assassination of a witness. Art. 4-II-a talks about the punishment of eight to sixteen years in incarceration, which shall be actively utilized to prosecute police officers who have been breaking Art.2-bis.

The FWP also possesses multiple protocols for witness protection, which are a set of strict rules and obligations that the Mexican government have regarding the well-being of its witnesses, be them in the level of States or Federal. Those protocols are:

• The Mexican government will provide the following for those who are members of the witness protection program:

• One reasonable job opportunity for the witness, based on their skills;

• One reasonable education opportunity course for the witness – if they possess a high school graduation, the opportunity for free, online university classes will be granted;

• Assistance in finding housing, generally located at a considerable distance from their previous association;

• Provide subsistence payment on average of US$5,000 per year, or MX$100,000;

• Provide new identity documents for witness and family members;

• Provide counseling and advice by psychologists, psychiatrists and/or social workers when the need has been strongly substantiated;

• Provide police escorts and protection on a 24-hour basis.

Meanwhile, the protocols of the witnesses are the following:

• Strictly follow the protocols granted by the Mexican authorities, or risk removal from the witness protection program;

• Strict reduction of movement and the usage of an electronic ankle bracelet for a period of two (2) years following entry into the witness protection program;

• Moderate reduction of movement for the entire period following entry into the witness protection program, with further liberties being granted on a case-by-case basis by the office of the Director of the FWP;

• Witnesses must report to their assigned FWP police officer on a weekly basis. Failure to report within one week, means the reassessment of their status and they shall have to report to their assigned FWP police officer for a period of six months, until they return to their previous regime;

• Witnesses are obligated to possess escorts and 24-hour protection services, when in areas of high danger and high risk of flight, including when perambulating or exercising their functions as sovereign citizens of Mexico.

The Civil Service Exam

The Civil Service Exam (CSE) is not the brainchild of the Sec. of Justice, but is rather the combination of many different political officials operating within the government. Taking a meritocratic/technocratic basis, the CSE is, in this case, being analyzed due to how useful it is to the judiciary of Mexico.

The CSE would be composed of multiple exams, depending on the line of occupation and their importance, dedicated to providing the State with the most capable civil service officials that Mexican society can provide. The usage of the CSE in the judiciary would aid in the elimination of corruption, and political influence.

The CSE would be combined with another proposal, the ‘Freedom from Influence Act’ (FIA), a set of laws whose purpose is to vet possible candidates in Mexico from political party affiliations – that is, a candidate cannot be a member of a political party, and must not have been a member of a political party for the past five (5) years; the candidates must also not have been investigated for any crime, nor charged with any crime, during their entire lives after attaining majority.

The CSE plus the FIA are, according to the Sec. of Justice, the two main items that the Mexican government must pass, as soon as possible, as to allow an influx of dedicated members of the civil service with no affiliations, nor any chances at corruption.

The Court Protocols

The protocols of Mexican courts must also be changed; the process must be expedited, the members of the court must be well-trained, and they must possess a high degree of trust on the Mexican government, as to increase their motivation and their dedication to the prosecution of organized crime in the nation.

Which is why a few reforms are also needed in the courts of Mexico, such as:

• Obligating magistrates and judges to utilize balaclavas during the rulings of organized crime trials, as to disallow facial recognition and avoid retaliations of the cartels;

• The reasons expressed by a court to justify a sentence in a given trial can serve as evidence in other trials;

• The utilization of multiple evidences, including objective evidences such as wiretapping, videotaping, etc. and the usage of witnesses; the role of the witness must be protected through the FWP and through legislation, allowing the witness to provide depositions to public prosecutors and the police, which can be utilized in court if given a seal of approval of reliability by other public prosecutors as well.

• The recognition of valid and sufficient evidence the cross-examination of the deposition of multiple witnesses; and the adoption of a law similar to Art. 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Italy, where the admission of a hearsay declaration can be utilized.

• There is also the need for the promotion of cooperation of witnesses outside of the Cartels; the need for witnesses to fully disclose the assets that they have gained illicitly, so as to make their statements more credible and robust; and the avoidance of coordinated statements between witnesses by having zero communications between them.

The Federal Agency for Seized and Forfeited Goods

The Federal Agency for Seized and Forfeited Goods (FASFG) is one of the most important agencies for the war against the cartels; the seizure of billions of dollars in assets will be crucial for funding the Sec. of Justice and impeding the cartels from ruling further territory while their leaderships are incarcerated – the lack of money is a strong motivator for dropping the narcotraffickers.

Therefore, the FASFG will be subordinated to the Sec. of Justice, and their leadership – and ranks – will be selected by the aforementioned CSE/FIA. The FASFG will be utilized to their maximum capability, with frequent assignments and a single role: prosecute the assets of convicted and investigated targets of the Mexican War on Drugs.

They shall be granted special legislation, and their role will be quite similar to the FOANO – but while FOANO will expedite the prosecution of cartels and narcotraffickers, FASFG will expedite the prosecution of asset seizures. They shall intervene during the whole life-cycle of the goods, from the seizure by the judiciary until the final assignment, which takes place with the assistance of experts. The seized goods will be distributed based on which State they were seized in, with the Federal government taking a percentage of the seized goods while the remainder is redistributed back to the State, to be utilized in the judiciary and the prosecution of further cartel associates.

Introducing the Changes to the President

After Alfredo compiled and drafted these changes, his first move was to provide a basic introduction to all of them to President Aleida; he talked about the history of these laws, and how they would combine into an effective anti-cartel base for the government. He talked about further influxes of money into the Sec. of Justice and the possibility of increasing the amount of people in the judiciary system as to increase the people’s trust into the government and increase the efficiency of the system, which would be beneficial for the government, and for the people, as more and more cartel members are strongly prosecuted.

While these planned reforms are not laws yet, Aleida has constantly promised Alfredo that the judiciary and the reforms to that sector of Mexico are his domain; it remains to be seen whether Aleida will have the political capital and knowledge to sufficiently coax MORENA into passing these vast reforms, which could be seen by many members of the legislative as too many reforms in too little time.