Genaro García Lunaformer Secretary of Security in the Government of Felipe Calderonwas sentenced to more than 38 years in prison for his ties to drug trafficking.
This Wednesday, after almost 2 years after being convicted by a jury in the US, Judge Brian Cogan The sentence was imposed in the East Court of Brooklyn, New York.
With this, García Luna becomes the first Secretary of State of Mexico convicted in the US for being part of a drug trafficking network. Before him, only politicians such as former governors Mario Villanueva or Tomás Yarrington have been sentenced.
What was dictated by Cogan – a judge considered ruthless in his sentences – echoes what was stated by Breon Peace, prosecutor of the Eastern District of New York after the jury found the “former super cop” guilty:
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“García Luna, who once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico, will now live out the rest of his days, having been revealed as a traitor to his country and to the honest members of law enforcement who risked their lives to dismantle drug cartels.”
At the time, Peace said that Calderón’s former right-hand man betrayed his duty as Secretary of Public Security by accepting millions of dollars in bribes:
“Stained by the blood of the Cartel wars and drug-related battles on the streets of the United States and Mexico, in exchange for protecting those murderers and traffickers that he solemnly swore to investigate.”
Genaro García Luna’s links were pointed out by Opposition politicians and journalists during his management with a security official, but became more relevant in 2018 when, during the trial against “El Chapo” Guzmán, “El Rey” Zambada was questioned by the Prosecutor’s Office about the bribes that his brother, “El Mayo” delivered to the former anti-drug czar of Felipe Calderón.
The following year, an investigation against him was reactivated, which led to his arrest on December 9, 2019 in Texas.
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During his trial, the US Prosecutor’s Office presented the network of complicities that García Luna wove with senior drug trafficking bosses while he was Secretary of State. Throughout the process against him, García Luna has maintained, in writing, that it is a exemplary person and that the accusations against him “are out of reality.”
García Luna and his defense even tried to bring the accusations against him to former President López Obrador, but the strategy during the trial did not work for them. In addition, they tried on several occasions to have a new process opened, which also did not bear fruit.
Today, after 1 year and 8 months, the sentence is handed down after finding him guilty of the following charges:
- Heading a criminal enterprise (links to the Sinaloa Cartel)
- Conspiracy to distribute drugs (cocaine)
- Conspiracy to distribute and possess drugs (cocaine) for distribution in the United States
- Conspiracy to import drugs into the US (cocaine)
- Giving false testimony to the authorities when applying for nationality
🔴⚡ #BREAKING | Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Security of Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon), is sentenced to more than 38 years in prison by Judge Brian Cogan. More information coming soon. pic.twitter.com/UHwiRkQkqz
— @diario24horas (@diario24horas) October 16, 2024
MC
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