Mexico anti-drug general is ousted

But in a surprise move Thursday, the general was relieved of his command, abruptly ending his controversial 20-month stint as the leader of President Felipe Calderon's army-led battle against organized crime in the northern states of Baja California and Sonora.

Aponte policed a region that serves as a major drug-trafficking corridor for some of Mexico's most powerful criminal groups, including Tijuana's notorious Arellano Felix cartel. The more than 3,000 troops under his command arrested 1,388 suspects and seized 539 tons of marijuana, 4 tons of cocaine and 1,583 weapons.

The stout, salt-and-pepper-haired general, who broke secretive military tradition by becoming an outspoken public figure who relished the media spotlight, left the military base in Mexicali on Thursday night, but not without first thanking adoring residents through calls to local newspapers.

The office of the secretary of defense said in a news release that Aponte's removal was part of a regular rotation of generals and officers nationwide. He is to become president of the Supreme Military Tribunal in Mexico City.

But critics and supporters said the general's ouster probably was related to his increasingly contentious behavior.

Aponte won broad public support for aggressive tactics against drug gangs whose turf wars have left hundreds dead here, but he generated controversy by denouncing scores of police officers, prosecutors and officials by name in blistering letters published in newspapers across the state.

With such an aggressive general benched, some critics questioned Calderon's commitment to the drug war, saying he appeared to be sending a signal that his get-tough campaign against traffickers, which has included deploying 40,000 troops to several states, stops short of attacking entrenched government corruption.

Aponte took aim at the culture of impunity enjoyed for years by Baja California leaders with Calderon's conservative National Action Party, who many say were complicit in the rise of the drug cartels.