Genaro García Luna, Mexico's Ex-security Chief, Accused of Accepting Bribes From Mexican Drug Cartels, Faces Corruption Trial

By Mary Webber Jan 16 2023, 21:41 PM EST

Mexico's former security chief, Genaro García Luna, is currently facing a corruption trial after he was accused of taking bribes from Mexican drug cartels.

García Luna's alleged taking of bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel was revealed during the cartel boss El Chapo's trial. One of the members of the Sinaloa Cartel testified that the group had given the ex-security chief "briefcases filled with cash," as reported by The Guardian.

Seth DuCharme, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York, said that Garcia Luna betrayed "those he was sworn to protect" by accepting bribes from Sinaloa cartel members.

The corruption trial against Mexico's former security chief will have the power to reveal the corrupt practices of Mexican security agencies while highlighting the failures of the U.S.-supported war against drugs.

In exchange for the bribes to García Luna, the cartel was allowed to have "safe passage for its drug shipment" while having sensitive law enforcement information on the cartel and info about rival drug cartels.

García Luna's corruption trial is expected to be a follow-up to El Chapos' trial, which resulted in a conviction in 2019.

Mexico's Genaro García Luna

The case against the former security chief could pose further cases on two former top-ranking police officials, who were charged with him but stayed in Mexico. They were Luis Cardenas Palomino and Ramon Pequeno Garcia, according to The New York Times.

Eduardo Guerrero, a Mexico City security analyst, noted that it could have consequences for the opposition in the presidential election in 2024, which could harm the conservative National Action Party that García Luna served.

Guerrero described the case of García Luna as "a trunk filled with secrets" that could be released in public. He added that it seems people will learn a lot of things that the general public had no idea about.

Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that it is "very important" that everyone knows what is going on to prevent it from happening again.

Lopez Obrador disbanded the agency García Luna previously held, which is the Federal Police, in 2018 and replaced it with the National Guard.

Lopez Obrador said that he does not want the National Guard to end up like the Federal Police in Mexico.

Mexico's Officials and Mexican Drug Cartels

In December, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia Berdeja showed the criminal structure that was employed during García Luna's time as the country's Mexico chief.

Mejia showed the photo of the individuals under the command of García Luna. They called themselves "the seven horsemen of the apocalypse."

Before the said "horsemen," the ex-security chief also oversaw a group called "The 12 Apostles" in 2001.

Mejia noted that the members under García Luna were part of the criminal structure inside the public security, which started in 2001 and lasted until 2018.

The U.S. Department of Justice released more than one million pages of documents, with photos and videos, which showed García Luna's connection to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mexico's ex-security chief was also accused of being involved in a money-laundering scheme. He allegedly moved $50 million worth of bribes to international havens.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Mexico's former top security chief accused of accepting bribes from cartel - from WFAA