After a month-long trial that started in January, a jury discovered García Luna responsible on all 5 counts in an indictment that included his alleged involvement in an ongoing felony enterprise, worldwide cocaine distribution and drug-related conspiracies. He faces a minimal of 20 years in jail and a most of life in jail. Sentencing is scheduled for June 27.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Saritha Komatireddy mentioned in closing statements that García Luna was “a wise, formidable, highly effective and self-serving politician” who accepted hundreds of thousands of {dollars} “from the very individuals he was presupposed to prosecute.”
García Luna, 54, took bribe cash “in briefcases, in duffel luggage, in containers full of money,” Komatireddy mentioned. He additionally hand-delivered cocaine for the group, tipped them off to anticipated legislation enforcement actions, and helped arrest and kill members of rival cartels.
García Luna was some extent of contact for officers within the U.S. who handled Mexico in efforts to thwart narcotics trafficking. He ran the Federal Investigation Company from 2001 to 2005 and was the nation’s secretary of public safety from 2006 to 2012.
Through the trial, 25 witnesses have been known as by the prosecution — together with a number of high-level members of the Sinaloa group, whose chief was tried and convicted in the identical U.S. courthouse in 2019.
“These witnesses have been near the highest,” Komatireddy mentioned to jurors. “Excessive up sufficient to know concerning the cartel’s most delicate and vital authorities relationships, together with its relationship with the defendant.”
García Luna’s legal professional, Cesar de Castro, mentioned the decision was a disappointment and mentioned the ex-official “will proceed to do every thing he can to clear his good identify.” De Castro advised jurors the prosecution’s case relied totally on the testimony of criminals. “Nothing backs up what these killers, torturers, fraudsters, and epic narcotics traffickers claimed about Genaro García Luna,” he mentioned throughout closing arguments.
De Castro mentioned the prosecution’s witnesses have been motivated by the promise of leniency in their very own authorized issues and the potential for beginning new lives within the U.S. with the federal government’s help.
In drug instances, prosecutors often depend on the testimony of cooperating witnesses who’re additionally concerned within the felony exercise.
Brooklyn U.S. Legal professional Breon Peace mentioned in a press release that García Luna will “stay the remainder of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his nation and to the trustworthy members of legislation enforcement who risked their lives to dismantle drug cartels.”
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar tweeted that the decision “demonstrates how our relentless pursuit for justice is stronger than the [transnational criminal organizations’] makes an attempt to wrest good governance away from the individuals who deserve it.”
The conviction comes as an enormous quantity of Mexican territory is managed by organized crime teams that struggle one another for affect. Homicides have hovered over 30,000 per 12 months since 2019, throughout President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s tenure, in line with Mexico’s crime statistics.
A spokesman for López Obrador known as García Luna a “former squire” of former president Felipe Calderón in a tweet Tuesday after the decision.
Whereas the trial was largely targeted on García Luna’s ties to violent traffickers, it’s clear from latest historical past that U.S. counternarcotics technique in Mexico has been marred by failure. Lately, the Sinaloa cartel has developed the capability to fabricate and site visitors hundreds of thousands of doses of fentanyl yearly.
López Obrador has been a frequent critic of U.S. makes an attempt to curb drug trafficking and García Luna’s conviction will for some solid doubt on the effectiveness of earlier U.S. efforts. Final month, López Obrador mentioned in a information convention that hyperlinks between García Luna and U.S. authorities instructed that U.S. intelligence companies “want a shake up, a assessment.”
U.S. officers have mentioned a lot of the blame rests with Mexico for not being extra aggressive to stem the move of medication.
García Luna’s conviction follows the controversial U.S. case in opposition to Salvador Cienfuegos, Mexico’s former protection minister. Cienfuegos was arrested in 2020 in Los Angeles on bribery and drug trafficking prices, however after strain from López Obrador, he was launched and returned to Mexico, the place he lives as a free man.
Sieff reported from Mexico Metropolis.