Politics

Washington –  Carlos Pascual's resignation from the post of U.S. ambassador to Mexico was a "personal decision," the State Department said.

"He made a personal decision. He, I believe, said in his statement that he didn't want to be a distraction to what is one of our most important bilateral relationships," Acting Deputy Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Monday.

Announced last weekend, Pascual's resignation followed harsh criticism from Mexican President Felipe Calderon over comments about Mexico in U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

"It is with great regret that I announce that Ambassador Pascual has asked President (Barack) Obama and me to accept his resignation as our ambassador to Mexico," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement released Saturday.

Pascual "has been an architect and advocate for the U.S.-Mexico relationship, effectively advancing the policies of the United States on behalf of the President and this Administration," Clinton said.

The soon-to-be-former ambassador "enjoyed all along the support of the secretary and, obviously, the president," Toner said at the State Department daily press briefing. "We feel he accomplished a great deal in his role."

One of the leaked cables that irked Calderon says a former top Mexican official implied during an October 2009 meeting with U.S. Justice Department officials that the government had lost control over certain parts of Mexico to drug traffickers.

Another, signed by Pascual, reveals a lack of confidence in Mexico's ability to effectively fight drug trafficking due to the rivalry and lack of coordination among the security forces, "generalized" government corruption and the inability of the army to gather evidence against suspects.

Confidence "is difficult to build and very easy to lose," Calderon told The Washington Post earlier this month regarding his working relationship with Pascual.

The departing ambassador will remain in Mexico to aid in organizing an "orderly transition" before taking up a new post in the State Department, officials in Washington said.