October 22, 2018
Yesterday, President-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that the future head of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena [Army and Air Force]) will be General Luis C. Sandoval and that of the head of the Secretariat of the Navy will be Admiral Rafael Ojeda Durán.
The President-elect made the announcement of his choice of General Sandoval on Twitter, after a meeting in the afternoon with the current Secretary of Defense, Salvador Cienfuegos. He highlighted General Sandoval´s "loyalty to the homeland". He also thanked General Cienfuegos for his support.
Earlier in the day, the President-elect had also announced on his Twitter account his choice of Rafael Ojeda to head the Navy:
"I have decided to appoint Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán as the next Secretary of the Navy. He is the most senior and prestigious officer in the Mexican Navy."López Obrador said he spoke with the current head of the Navy, Vidal Soberón, and with President Enrique Peña Nieto, who supported his choices.
WHO IS LUIS SANDOVAL?
Luis Cresencio Sandoval was born on February 7, 1960, in Ensenada, Baja California. He is currently a Division General, a position to which he was promoted in November 2017. He is also a teacher in Military Administration of National Security and Defense at the National Defense College.
The positions he has held include Head of the Strategic Planning and Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Defense Staff; chief of the technical section and private secretary to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as well as Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of SEDENA [Secretariat of National Defense].
He has been Commander of the 8th and 30th military zones of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and Villahermosa, Tabasco, respectively; and Commander of the IV Military Region.
He has also been Deputy Chief of the Fifth and Sixth section of the Presidential General Staff [presidential guard]; deputy chief of staff of the headquarters of the 20th military zone in Ocosingo, Chiapas; Commander of the sixth and seventh regiments of motorized cavalry in Oaxaca, and in Quintana Roo, respectively, and commander of the Military Garrison of Piedras Negras, Coahuila.
General Sandoval has been decorated for Length of Service every five years up to his 30th year and for Extraordinary and Special Service since then, as well as the Legion of Honor and the Award for Distinguished Military Service.
WHO IS RAFAEL OJEDA?
José Rafael Ojeda Durán is currently Inspector General and Comptroller of the Navy. He was born on February 3, 1954, in the City of Xalapa, [capital of] Veracruz. He entered the Heroic Naval Military School on January 9, 1969, graduating five years later as a Marine, according to the Navy's website.
Ojeda Durán has completed various postgraduate studies, among them a specialty in Naval Command and a masters degree in Naval Administration and National Security, completed at the Naval Superior Studies Center.
Admiral Ojeda Durán has been chief of staff for the Chief of Naval Operations and for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy. He has also been Chief of the General Staff of the Fourteenth Naval Zone and Chief of Staff in the Sixth and Tenth Naval Areas .
He has also been General Director of Research and Development, General Director of Human Resources, Deputy Director General of Security and Social Welfare, and Deputy Director General of the Social Security Institute for the Mexican Armed Forces.
He has received the Award for Length of Service in the Mexican Navy, beginning with the first ten years, then every five years up to his 35th year, and subsequently the Awards for Exceptional Length of Service for 40 and 45 years of service, respectively. Spanish original