Ex-Top Cop in Mexico Found Guilty of Accepting Bribes From Sinaloa Cartel

Mexico’s former top officials charged with tackling the cartels were found guilty by secretly providing protection. El Chapo He was also supposed to be tracking down the criminal organizations.

Genaro Garcia LunaAfter taking millions of dollars in bribes from cartels, he was found guilty in New York on Tuesday. After three days of deliberation at Brooklyn Federal District Court, the verdict was announced. The New York Times.

 
Garcia Luna was Mexico’s equivalent to FBI. He was found guilty in taking millions in bribes, and providing protection to Sinaloa cartel. He protected El Chapo, the leader of the notorious Mexican drug gang, from arrest while allowing them to ship drugs into America.

After the trial of El Chapo, Garcia Luna was first on the radar of prosecutors. After the trial, he was taken into custody in Dallas in 2019.

Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated that in a letter he sent to Judge Brian M Cogan earlier this month. “While holding public office, the defendant used his official positions to assist the Sinaloa Cartel, a notorious Mexican drug cartel, in exchange for multimillion-dollar bribes.”

Peace stated that the government expected a number former Sinaloa Cartel high-ranking officials to testify at the trial.

“In exchange for these bribes, the defendant provided the Sinaloa Cartel with, among other things, safe passage for its drug shipments, sensitive law enforcement information about investigations into the cartel, and information about rival drug cartels,” Peace was written.

“These payments allowed the cartel at times to receive warnings in advance of law enforcement efforts to apprehend cartel members and to allow cartel members to be released if arrested. During the time that the defendant protected the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for bribes, the cartel was able to send multi-ton drug loads to the Eastern District of New York, including Brooklyn and Queens,” He added.

Prosecutors used testimony of cartel operatives who claimed that they had received bribes for Sinaloa.

Sergio Villarreal Barragan was the first witness who told the jury Garcia Luna had more than $14,000,000 in cash in a warehouse in Chiapas, Mexico.

Jesus Garcia, the brother to El Chapo’s business associate Ismael Garcia stated that he packed millions into duffel bags which were then given to Garcia Luna in a Mexico City eatery, shortly after he was appointed the country’s security secretary. 

Garcia Luna maintained that he was innocent throughout the trial. Garcia Luna is facing a minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum term of life. 

This is breaking news and will be updated.