Rabat – Abdellatif Hammouchi, the chief of Morocco’s DGSN (an elite police agency specialized in countering terrorism), has again won international validation, with an Italian newspaper describing him as the “super agent who never sleeps.”
Following the Spanish outlet El Pais, which last week paid tribute to Hammouchi’s “contributions to maintaining national security” in Morocco, the Italian daily II Post recently praised the Hammouchi-led DGST-DGSN’s (the Directorate of National Security) efforts in dismantling terrorist networks and ridding Morocco of terrorist strikes in recent years.
The Italian outlet called Hammouchi “the super-agent fighting Islamist extremism,”giving figures about the DGSN’s impressive performance both in terms of intelligence gathering and field operations.
According to the report, Hammouchi is “powerful, respected, and controversial,” almost like “a movie character.”
II post went on to describe Hammouchi as the perfect embodiment of leadership and crisis management, suggesting that his strong and winning personality plays a crucial role in the DGSN’s agents’ efficiency in their missions and assignments. Hammouchi, II Post added, is the “workaholic” responsible for the modernization of Moroccan anti-terrorism system.
In addition to describing the Moroccan official as a movie character, the report noted that he is the “most informed man in Morocco,” “has an incredible memory,” and “is one of the finest connoisseurs of extremist Islamism.”
While II Post and El Pais’ description of Hammouchi may easily come across as outsized and embellished, Hammouchi’s formidable success as chief of Morocco’s elite police units has won him international accolades and validation from various international observers, journalists, and security experts over the years.
Last month, French outlet Valeurs Actuelles hailed Morocco’s successful anti-terrorism model, calling he country the bastion of security and stability in the MENA region.
Valeurs Actuelles also showered DGST-DGSN with accolades, describing the units as Morocco’s FBI and the main architect of the North African country’s anti-terrorism’s recent achievements.
