The Senate on Thursday confirmed Arturo Chavez Chavez as Mexico’s attorney general, despite objections by human-rights activists who assailed his role as prosecutor in the northern state of Chihuahua.
Chavez, 49, who was quickly sworn in, becomes Mexico’s top law-enforcement official at a crucial moment. President Felipe Calderon’s government is at war with drug-trafficking groups that have unleashed waves of violence.
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Chavez picked up needed opposition support to win confirmation on a 75-27 vote.
“I come with my head held high and will work the same way: with honesty, transparency and with a commitment to serve my country,” he said after taking office.
Chavez was Chihuahua’s top prosecutor from 1996 to 1998, a period when an alarming number of women were disappearing or turning up dead, often with ghastly injuries. Critics said Chavez failed to properly investigate.