Mexico: Felipe Calderon Expresses Doubts on Genaro Garcia Luna Trial Verdict
Mexico’s former president Felipe Calderon has doubts about the Genaro Garcia Trial Verdict in the United States, saying that his doubts came from his expectations that he would see what the Prosecutor’s Office announced so much such as videos, statements, and recordings, among many others. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Mexico's former president Felipe Calderon has doubts about the Genaro Garcia trial verdict in the United States. He said his doubts came from his expectations that he would see what the Prosecutor's Office announced, such as videos, statements, and recordings, among many others.

EL Pais reported that the former Mexican president stated none of those were exhibited during Garcia Luna's trial.

He then went on to say that the trial was a "political-media persecution" against him in Mexico.

Calderon criticized how the prosecutors handled the case, noting that they heavily relied on the statements of cooperating witnesses, who were "confessed criminals."

He concluded that most of those who gave their testimonies were "confessed criminals," who were "persecuted, captured, and extradited" in Mexico.

Garcia Luna served under Calderon's administration, which prompted many to believe that the former Mexican president should also face a probe.

An El Pais poll found that 84% of Mexicans believe that Calderon should also be investigated for his connections to drug trafficking.

The survey was commissioned by El Pais to the Enkoll agency, which asked 1,223 women and men to participate in the study.

Genaro Garcia Luna Trial

In February, Garcia Luna was found guilty of taking bribes worth millions of dollars from the Sinaloa Cartel, which is one of the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.

Mexico's former security chief will serve the mandatory minimum of 20 years, as per the Department of Justice's statement.

Prosecutors said that Garcia Luna accepted millions of dollars placed inside briefcases and delivered by members of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The trial of Garcia Luna makes him the highest-ranking Mexican official to be tried in the United States, according to BBC News.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's spokesperson, Jesus Ramirez Cuevas, said that justice has been enforced on the "former squire" of Calderon, adding that the crimes against the Mexican people "will never be forgotten."

Genaro Garcia Luna Connections to Sinaloa Cartel

The trial showed that Garcia Luna would receive the payoff at a carwash, according to the testimony of the former leader of the Milenio Cartel, Oscar Nava Valencia.

A Sinaloa Cartel accountant, Israel Avila, also offered insight into the connection between Garcia Luna and Arturo Beltrán Leyva.

Avila told the jury that amid the civil war between cartels, Beltran Leyva wanted to know whether Garcia Luna would come to his side instead of El Chapo's, as reported by The New York Times.

Avila said that Beltran Leyva had Garcia Luna kidnapped when he failed to provide an answer.

Garcia Luna was not harmed when he was abducted, but his kidnapping lasted for a week.

A Colombian trafficker, Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, also corroborated the story of Garcia Luna's kidnapping.

Poveda-Ortega said that Beltran Leyva had Garcia Luna abducted in a "fit of rage" after suspecting that the ex-security chief was siding with El Chapo in the cartel's civil war.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Guilty: Mexico's Ex-Top Cop García Luna Convicted in U.S. Drug Trafficking Case - from Democracy Now