Foreign Ministry Announces Unit Head and Director General Appointments

The Foreign Ministry announces that, on the instructions of Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco Álvarez, a number of unit heads and directors general have been appointed within the ministry.

These appointments will strengthen coordination among the Foreign Ministry's departments and advance Mexico's foreign policy and the defense and protection of the rights of Mexicans abroad.

The unit head appointments are as follows:

• Ana Valeria Nápoles Arenas, as head of the Administration and Finance Unit. She has served as Director General for Legal and Administrative Assistance, as well as Director of Strategy and Public Policy for North America at the Foreign Ministry, a role in which she helped implement programs for indigenous communities and Afro-Mexican populations abroad. She has also served as Administrative Director and Director of Internal Communications, overseeing public servant accountability procedures, audit follow-up, and resource management.
• Efraín Guadarrama Pérez, as head of the Unit for Diplomatic Outreach, Foreign Policy, and Interinstitutional Affairs within the Secretary's Office. He served for more than five years as Director General for American Regional Organizations at the Foreign Ministry, a role in which he served as Mexico's lead coordinator at CELAC, the Pacific Alliance, and the Ibero-American Conference, among many other multilateral forums. He has also worked as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme and has been decorated by Costa Rica and Paraguay.
• Daniela Zapata Zalce, as head of the International Image and Public Diplomacy Unit. She served as the Foreign Ministry's Director General for Social Communication, where she oversaw the ministry's communications strategy with national and international media. She has extensive communications experience within the federal government.
• Farid Hannan Goyri, as head of the Economic Diplomacy Unit. He served as Director General for Economic Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry, as well as in the Economic Affairs and Strategic Analysis area, with a focus on promoting Mexico's economic interests through its missions abroad.

Fourteen individuals have been appointed as directors general - seven women and seven men. Of these, seven belong to the Mexican Foreign Service (SEM), four women and three men.

The new appointments are as follows:

Office of the Secretary

• Natalia Figueroa Lima, SEM, as Director General for Analysis, Strategic Follow-up, and Executive Coordination
• Yúriko Luisa Garcés Lee, SEM, as Director General for Planning and Coordination of Bilateral, Multilateral, and Economic Affairs
• Omar Ameth Wong Camarillo, as Director General for Social Communication

Office of the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs

• Carmen Cecilia Villanueva Bracho, SEM, as Director General for Europe

Office of the Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean

• Rafael Barceló Durazo, SEM, as Director General for South America

Office of the Undersecretary for North America

• Oliver Arroyo Ramón, as Director General for Special Affairs and Border Modernization
• Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, SEM, as Director General for Consular Services
• Soileh Padilla Mayer, SEM, as Director General for Diplomatic Strategy for North America

Office of the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights

• Roberto Armando de León Huerta, SEM, as Director General for Global Issues
• César Villanueva Esquivel, as Director General for Human Rights and Democracy

Administration and Finance Unit

• Lucía Antonio Pérez, as Director General for Oversight and Administrative Support for Mexico's Overseas Missions
• Mariana Flores Mayén, as Director General for Program Strategy and Oversight

Intersectoral Coordination Unit

• María de Lourdes Ruiz Pastrana, as Director General for Cultural Diplomacy

Office of the Legal Advisor

• Gerardo Gil Valdivia, as Director General for the Archives of Diplomatic History