Mexico’s No. 2 security official quits, deserts ruling party

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ricardo Mejia has resigned as Mexico’s number two security official, and said he will continue in state politics outside of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party. Mejia said Friday he will run for governor in the northern state of Coahuila on the ticket of smaller Labor Party. That marks the first of a number of possible high-level defections from Morena as the 2024 elections approach. Mejia wanted to be the Morena party’s candidate for governor of the state of Coahuila, but didn’t get the nomination. As Mexico’s assistant secretary of public safety, Mejia was the most public face of López Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” security policy.