President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced Friday her picks to lead the Mexican Army and Navy during her government, which will take office on Oct. 1
Sheinbaum named Ricardo Trevilla Trejo as Mexico’s next minister of national defense, the country’s top Army official, and Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles as minister of the Navy.
Both posts are extremely powerful given that the military is now responsible for a wide range of areas beyond national defense.
The Army and Navy play a key role in public security, and during the current government were given responsibility for building major infrastructure projects, managing ports, airports and customs and running a new state-owned airline, among other non-traditional tasks.
The heavy reliance on the armed forces — criticized by human rights organizations and others — looks set to continue during Sheinbaum’s six-year term of government.
The president-elect announced her picks for national defense minister and Navy minister in a statement, explaining that she chose Trevilla and Morales after an “exhaustive review of the best candidates.”
She acknowledged the “work and dedication” of outgoing National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval González and Navy Minister José Rafael Ojeda Durán.
What are the backgrounds of the new Army and Navy chiefs?
Trevilla, 63, and Morales, 58, have both had long military careers.
According to Sheinbaum’s statement, the former is currently a divisional general in the Mexican Army, while the latter is an admiral in the Navy and general director of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Trevilla, originally from Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, graduated from the Heroic Military College in Mexico City as a second lieutenant and subsequently completed two degrees, including a master’s, in military administration.
His active service in the Army began in 1978 when he was just 17.
Among Trevilla’s deployments was one to the border region in Chiapas, which is currently plagued by cartel violence. He also served as military attaché to the Mexican Embassies in Germany and Poland.
Morales, originally from the state of Oaxaca, joined the Mexican Navy as a cadet in 1983.
In 1989, he completed a degree in naval engineering, and subsequently earned master’s degrees in national security and in naval administration. Morales also studied at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., completing a course on defense policy and strategy.
Before becoming an admiral in late 2023, he served as a Navy commander and director of the Center for Higher Naval Studies. In addition, Morales served as a naval attaché to the Mexican Embassy in the United States.
Who else will be in Sheinbaum’s cabinet?
Before announcing Trevilla and Morales as the top military officials in her government, Sheinbaum named her civilian ministers, including Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O, who will continue in his current position.
On June 20, 18 days after her landslide victory in the presidential election, she announced the following appointments:
- Economy minister: Marcelo Ebrard
- Environment minister: Alicia Bárcena
- Foreign affairs minister: Juan Ramón de la Fuente
- Minister for science, humanities, technology and innovation: Rosaura Ruiz
- Agriculture and rural development minister: Julio Berdegué
- Legal counsel to the president: Ernestina Godoy
Then on June 27, Sheinbaum announced five more appointments:
- Energy minister: Luz Elena González Escobar
- Health minister: David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz
- Public administration minister: Raquel Buenrostro
- Infrastructure, communications and transport minister: Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina
- Agrarian, land and urban development minister: Edna Elena Vega Rangel
On July 4, the president-elect announced an additional four appointments:
- Interior minister: Rosa Icela Rodríguez
- Security minister: Omar García Harfuch
- Education minister: Mario Delgado
- Welfare minister: Ariadna Montiel Reyes
Sheinbaum subsequently made a number of other appointments, including the following:
- Chief of staff: Lázaro Cárdenas Batel
- Labor and social welfare minister: Marath Bolaños López
- Culture minister: Claudia Curiel de Icaza
- Tourism minister: Josefina Rodríguez Zamora
- General director of the Federal Electricity Commission: Emilia Esther Calleja Alor
- CEO of state oil company Pemex: Víctor Rodríguez Padilla
- Director of the Mexican Social Security Institute: Zoé Robledo
With reports from El Universal
