Secretariat of National Defense

The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA); Spanish: Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal Secretary of the Navy, is directly answerable to the President.^[2] Before 1937, the position was called the Secretary of War and Navy (Secretaría de Guerra y Marina). The agency has its headquarters in Lomas de Sotelo, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City.^[3] Some key figures who answer directly to the Secretary are the Assistant Secretary, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and all military tribunals.

Secretariat of National Defense

Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional
Logo during the 2018-2024 administration
Secretariat overview
Formed	1821; 203 years ago
Preceding Secretariat	Secretariat of War and Navy
Jurisdiction	Government of Mexico
Headquarters	Boulevard Manuel Ávila Camacho S/N. Esq. Av. Ind. Mil. Col. Lomas de Sotelo; Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo Mexico City, 11200 19°26′25″N 99°12′57″W / 19.44028°N 99.21583°W
Motto	Honor y Lealtad[1]
Annual budget	$199 b MXN (2022)
Minister responsible	Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretary of National Defense
Child Secretariat	National Guard
Website	www.gob.mx/sedena

Under the Federal Public Administration Act (Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal), the Secretary has the following duties, among others provided by the Constitution and relevant laws of Congress:

• Organize and administer affairs of the Army, Air Force and the National Guard and assist in their functions.
• Organize and assist in development and enforcement of National Military Service for the Army and Air Force.
• Management of the Army, Air Force, National Guard and armed contingents which do not belong to the state's national guard or law enforcement agencies.
• Plan, direct and handle mobilization of the country in the event of war; formulating and executing plans and orders necessary for national defense purposes, as well as directing and advising civil defense in both peacetime and wartime scenarios.
• Construct and prepare every kind of military buildings for Army and Air Force use, including forts and barracks, as well as administration of barracks, hospitals and other military buildings.
• Administer military justice, education and medical services as well as handle necessary benefits for personnel of the Army, Air Force and National Guard.
• Acquire and build armaments, ammunition, and all kinds of materials and elements for the use of Army and Air Force, as well as for the National Guard.
• Grant permission for an expedition force to enter another country or to allow another country to send their forces to Mexico.
• Manage the issuing of licenses to bear firearms with the aim of preventing the use of arms expressly banned in law and also those types of arms restricted by the state for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy and National Guard, with the exception of what is established by the 13th section of Article 30 of the Constitution, as well as the supervision and issuing of permits for the sale, transport and storage of firearms, chemical weapons, explosives and strategic weapons, as well as in the importation and exportation of the same.
• Contribute in construction of land and air-based communications lines together with other agencies of the Federal Government.
• Organize air-based SAR operations in times of emergency. (Article 80, Civil Aviation Law)

• Museo del Enervante - a Sedena museum dedicated to those who have fought drug trafficking in Mexico.
• Zuyaqui - a famous dog who worked for the agency.

• Official site of the Secretariat of National Defense (in Spanish)
• Official site of the Secretariat of National Defense, English version
• Citizens' Portal, Official Site of the Mexican Government (in Spanish)
• Basic Law of Federal Public Administration (in Spanish)

19°26′24″N 99°12′58″W / 19.440°N 99.216°W