Mexican official sentenced to 38-plus years in US for taking cartel bribes

NEW YORK — 

The antheral erstwhile heralded arsenic the designer of Mexico's warfare connected cause cartels was sentenced to much than 38 years successful a U.S. situation Wednesday for taking monolithic bribes to assistance cause traffickers.

Genaro García Luna, Mexico's erstwhile caput of nationalist security, was convicted by a New York assemblage successful 2023 of taking millions of dollars successful bribes to support the convulsive Sinaloa cartel that helium was supposedly combating. He is the highest-level Mexican authorities authoritative to beryllium convicted successful the United States.

At his sentencing proceeding earlier a national justice successful Brooklyn connected Wednesday, García Luna continued to support his innocence and said the lawsuit against him was based connected mendacious accusation from criminals and the Mexican government.

"I person a steadfast respect for the law," helium said successful Spanish. "I person not committed these crimes."

García Luna, 56, led Mexico's national constabulary earlier helium served successful a Cabinet-level presumption arsenic the apical information authoritative from 2006-12 nether then-President Felipe Calderón. At the time, García Luna was hailed arsenic an state by the U.S. successful its combat connected cause trafficking.

But U.S. prosecutors said that successful instrumentality for millions of dollars, helium provided quality astir investigations against the cartel, accusation astir rival gangs and the harmless transition of monolithic quantities of drugs.

Prosecutors had asked for a beingness sentence. García Luna's lawyers had argued that helium should get nary much than 20 years.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said helium wasn't moved by past accolades that García Luna received for his enactment successful the warfare connected drugs.

"That was your cover," Cogan said earlier imposing the sentence. "You are blameworthy of these crimes, sir. You can't parade these words and say, 'I'm constabulary serviceman of the year.'"

Besides the condemnation of 38 years and 4 months, the justice imposed a $2 cardinal fine.

During the trial, photos were shown of García Luna shaking hands with erstwhile President Barack Obama and speaking with erstwhile Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and erstwhile Sen. John McCain.

But prosecutors said García Luna secretly precocious a cause trafficking conspiracy that resulted successful the deaths of thousands of American and Mexican citizens. He ensured that cause traffickers were notified successful beforehand of raids and sabotaged morganatic constabulary operations aimed astatine apprehending cartel leaders, they said.

Drug traffickers were capable to vessel much than 1 cardinal kilograms of cocaine done Mexico and into the United States utilizing planes, trains, trucks and submarines portion García Luna held his posts, prosecutors said.

During erstwhile Sinaloa kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán's proceedings successful the aforesaid tribunal successful 2018, a erstwhile cartel subordinate testified that helium personally delivered astatine slightest $6 cardinal successful payoffs to García Luna and that cartel members agreed to excavation up to $50 cardinal to wage for his protection.

"He enabled the cartel. He protected the cartel. He was the cartel," Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy told the justice Wednesday.

García Luna enabled a corrupt strategy that allowed convulsive cartels to thrive and administer drugs that killed multitudes of people, she added.

"It whitethorn not person been the suspect pulling the trigger, but helium has humor connected his hands," Komatireddy said.

Prosecutors besides said García Luna plotted to undo past year's verdict by seeking to bribe oregon corruptly person aggregate inmates astatine the Metropolitan Detention Center successful Brooklyn to enactment mendacious allegations that 2 authorities witnesses communicated via contraband cellular phones successful beforehand of the trial.

García Luna's lawyer, Cesar de Castro, said the defence intends to entreaty the sentence. He said his lawsuit is idiosyncratic who "has served his country" and has present mislaid his money, his estimation arsenic good arsenic policies helium championed successful Mexico.

"He has mislaid adjacent to everything. All that remains is his fantastic family," de Castro said.

In Mexico, recently inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum concisely commented connected the lawsuit Tuesday, saying: "The large contented present is however idiosyncratic who was awarded by United States agencies, who ex-President Calderón said fantastic things astir his information secretary, contiguous is captive successful the United States due to the fact that it's shown that helium was tied to cause trafficking."