Former Mexican Official Arrested in U.S.

U.S. law enforcement has arrested former head of the Mexican Federal Investigation Agency for taking millions in bribes from Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, a well-known leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Genaro García Lunas, the official arrested, previously worked to root out drug corruption from Mexican law enforcement.

As former head of Mexico’s law enforcement agency from 2001 to 2005 and secretary of public security from 2006 to 2012, García Luna is one of the highest ranking Mexican officials to be indicted on drug trafficking charges in U.S. courts, according to the LA Times.

According to an indictment unsealed this week, on at least two occasions, García Luna accepted briefcases from cartel couriers stuffed with at least $3 million in cash.

García Luna is alleged to have provided Sinaloa cartel members with safe passage through the country as well as information on law enforcement investigations and rival gangs. García Luna was charged with three counts of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and one count of making false statements.

After being elected in 2001, García Luna was known for firing hundreds of federal police commanders in an effort to fight against corruption.

Bribery claims against García Luna emerged during the trial of El Chapo last year. García Luna has been a legal resident of the U.S. for several years.

U.S. Atty. Richard Donoghue said in a statement that the García Luna case “demonstrates our resolve to bring to justice those who help cartels inflict devastating harm on the United States and Mexico regardless of the positions they held while committing their crimes.”

The Department of Justice also recently charged Mexican national Fausto Isidro Meza-Flores, also known as “Chapo Isidro,” for a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana for importation into the United States. Meza-Flores is believed to be the leader of the Meza-Flores Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), a major drug trafficking organization also based in Sinaloa, Mexico. A $5 million reward has been offered for his capture.