Former drug war leader in Mexico is sentenced in the US

Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico between 2006 and 2012, received this Wednesday (16) a sentence of more than 38 years in prison in the United States for having protected a large drug cartel in his country in exchange for of bribes.

The prison sentence and a fine of US$2 million stem from accusations of drug trafficking, collaboration with organized crime and false testimony before American authorities.

Luna, who had been found guilty by a New York jury in 2023, appeared for a sentencing hearing in federal court in Brooklyn.

According to information from the Associated Press agency, the former secretary, the highest-ranking Mexican government official to be convicted in the United States, pleaded not guilty again this Wednesday and said that the charges were based on false information from criminals and the government Mexican.

Luna is 56 years old and was Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security during the presidency of conservative Felipe Calderón. Despite his position as a leader in the so-called war on drugs, he was reportedly paid millions of dollars to provide information on investigations into the feared Sinaloa Cartel, as well as reporting on rival criminal groups and how to safely pass large quantities of drugs into the United States. United States, according to the prosecutor’s office.

In X, Calderón claimed that he never received “verifiable evidence” of Luna’s involvement “in illicit activities, nor did I receive information to that effect from intelligence agencies, Mexican or foreign, which at the time trusted him and worked in partnership with him.”

“I did not have access to the evidence or testimony presented at the trial, but I am a man of the law and respect the actions of the courts. I assume they acted to the best of their knowledge and understanding. Therefore, I am in favor of anyone who breaks the law must accept the consequences of their actions,” wrote the former president of Mexico.