Abdellatif Hammouchi Among 50 Most Influential People in Africa

The pan-African magazine “Africa Report” has named Morocco’s Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of the country’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and Territorial Surveillance (DGST), among the fifty most influential people in Africa in the past year.

Rabat – The pan-African magazine “Africa Report” has named Morocco’s Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of the country’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and Territorial Surveillance (DGST), among the fifty most influential people in Africa in the past year.

In an article titled “50 Influential Africans: The Powebrokers,” the pan-African magazine emphasized Hammouchi’s significant position, referring to him as the “Eyes of the Kingdom [Morocco].”

The article pointed out that Hammouchi has demonstrated his resolve and devotion to both domestic and international security in the face of unproven and falsified accusations, especially in France.

Looking back at the incident in which Hammouchi was accused in France of “complicity in torture,” the magazine recalled how Morocco firmly rejected the French accusations and how this particular episode laid the groundwork for the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Paris and Rabat.

Indeed, the February 2014 summoning of Hammouchi by a Paris court ultimately led to a diplomatic crisis and a suspension of judicial cooperation between Morocco and France.

Tellingly, however, Hammouchi received the Legion of Honor, France’s highest order of merit for both civil and military services, in recognition of his effective and commanding leadership at the helm of Morocco’s security apparatus.

In recent years, Hammouchi has collaborated on joint operations and shared intelligence with international agencies such as the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and the French Directorate General for External Security (DGSE).

Meanwhile, Morocco has on numerous occasions contributed to international security by sending police officers in different parts of the world to help maintain order.

Ahead of last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the host country and Morocco signed a cooperation agreement which allowed the deployment of several thousand Moroccan agents to assist with security.