By Jesus Garcia
May 10, 2024, 10:13 AM EDT
In its new drug report, the DEA focuses on the role of the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartels, but also highlights its greatest achievement against corruption in Mexico: the arrest and conviction of Genaro García Luna.
The agency managed by Anne Milgran recognizes García Luna, who was Secretary of Public Security in the government of Felipe Calderón, but also a senior police officer in the government of Vicente Fox, as one of the factors that allowed the Sinaloa Cartel to grow to the levels that are currently still seen.
“Bribes increased over the years as the Sinaloa Cartel grew in size and power thanks to the support of the former secretary,” the recent DEA report says. “García-Luna is the highest-ranking Mexican official convicted of drug trafficking crimes in the United States.”
The report includes a small section titled: “What money can buy,” which explains the importance of García Luna’s conviction in the Eastern District Court of New York, due to his work in allowing the advancement of criminal groups in Mexico with consequences for the United States.
“The Sinaloa Cartel can operate freely in some parts of Mexico, because it has a network of police, military and corrupt political contacts,” the report says. “In February 2023, Genaro García Luna. […] was convicted in the Eastern District of New York on charges of international drug trafficking and conspiracy as a result of an investigation led by the DEA.”
The DEA notes that García Luna was an essential element for the Sinaloa Cartel to advance in Mexico and the United States.
“García-Luna used his official position to help the Sinaloa Cartel traffic drug shipments in quantities of several tons, mainly cocaine and heroin, into the United States in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes,” he notes.
García Luna was found guilty of five crimes, including drug trafficking conspiracy and lying to US immigration authorities.
What’s next in court for García Luna?
After a motion-appeal from García Luna’s defense and a response from the prosecutors, Judge Brian Cogan must decide on the request to cancel the trial of the former secretary or continue with the sentence, scheduled for June 24.
It stands out that the prosecutors involved in the García Luna case – and several more related cases – moved forward with accepting the judicial benefits requested by some of the witnesses who participated in the trial of the former Mexican official.
The most recent case was Édgar Veytia, former Nayarit prosecutor known as “El Diablo”, who had his sentence reduced to 10 years, but since he has already been in prison for just over seven years, it is possible that he will be released in a maximum of three years.
Veytia was described by prosecutors as an important witness in the ongoing case of García Luna and others.