Medina Mora voted to Mexico high court, steps down as U.S. ambassador

Eduardo Medina Mora, who has been voted by lawmakers to Mexico’s Supreme Court, has submitted his resignation as ambassador to the United States, the Foreign Relations Secretariat said.

The secretariat notified the U.S. State Department that Alejandro Estivill Castro, deputy head of mission at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, will take over as charge d’affaires until a new ambassador is designated and confirmed.

Medina Mora, who submitted his resignation to President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday, “contributed to maintaining excellent ties of friendship and cooperation between Mexico and the United States,” the secretariat said.

The attorney and diplomat, who was voted by lawmakers Tuesday as Supreme Court minister, was a controversial choice due to alleged human rights violations stemming from his tenure as public safety secretary under former President Vicente Fox.

Several civic organizations implicate Medina Mora in a May 2006 violent crackdown on a local peasant organization in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico state.

That police action, ordered by then Gov. Peña Nieto, resulted in two deaths and 207 arrests; the detainees included 26 women who said they were tortured and raped by police officers.

Civic organizations also criticize Medina Mora for declining jurisdiction as attorney general under Fox’s successor, Felipe Calderon to investigate the events in San Salvador Atenco even though federal officers took part in the crackdown.

Peña Nieto on Feb. 17 nominated Medina Mora to serve on the high court following the death of Supreme Court minister Sergio Valls in December.

Medina Mora, who has never served as a judge, was chosen over two nominees who have vast experience on the bench.