Former Mexico Security Head Convicted for Drug Cartel Bribes
The former top law enforcement official in Mexico was convicted in U.S. federal court of drug trafficking, for his efforts to help one of Mexico’s most dangerous drug cartels.
Genaro Garcia Luna was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on five counts of a superseding indictment accusing him of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.
Garcia Luna served as Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security from 2006 to 2012 and previously led Mexico’s Federal Investigative Agency (AFI).
According to court documents, Garcia Luna used his positions to help the Sinaloa drug cartel in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. Prosecutors say he facilitated the safe passage of cartel drug shipments, provided sensitive information about government investigations, and helped the cartel attack rival drug cartels, leading to the importation of tons of illegal drugs into the U.S.
“It is unconscionable that the defendant betrayed his duty as Secretary of Public Security by greedily accepting millions of dollars in bribe money that was stained by the blood of Carter wars and drug-related battles in the streets of the United States and Mexico, in exchange for protecting those murderers and traffickers he was solemnly sworn to investigate,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace.
Former high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel were witnesses. They testified that in exchange for bribes, Garcia Luna’s Federal Police Force acted as bodyguards and escorts for the cartel and allowed cartel members to wear police uniforms to unload shipments of cocaine. The police force also leaked information to the cartel to help it evade detection and gain an edge in attacking rival traffickers.
Prosecutors say the bribe amounts were paid in U.S. currency and increased as the cartel grew “through the assistance of the defendant.” Bribe money was stashed in suitcases and duffel bags in various locations, including a false wall at a “safe house”, a car wash, and a French restaurant in Mexico City across from the U.S. Embassy.
Genaro Garcia Luna, who moved to Miami in 2012, is the highest-ranking Mexican official to be tried in the United States.
He faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced in June.
The New York Strike Force, a crime-fighting unit comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, led the investigation. The strike force includes members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Coast Guard, and others.