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, who worked as Security Minister during Felipe Calderón 's administration and then worked for the Peña Nieto administration , was arrested by the DEA in Texas last night. He was arrested on charges that he allowed the Sinaloa Cartel to operate in Mexico in exchange for multimillion-dollar bribes , federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced on Tuesday.
Genaro García Luna,
who served as head of Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005 and as Security Minister from 2006 to 2012, was arrested in Dallas , Texas on Monday.
The statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice explains that Genaro Luna was arrested for drug trafficking conspiracy and making false statements . It adds that “An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Genaro Garcia Luna (...) with three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and one count of making false statements."
According to an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court , the Sinaloa Cartel was able to obtain safe passage for its drug shipments by bribing García Luna throughout his time in government. He is also accused of leaking information in regards to investigations and about rival cartels to the Sinaloa Cartel. According to the statement, he is also responsible for facilitating the importation of cocaine and other drugs into the United States. It is said that on two occasions, the Sinaloa Cartel personally delivered bribes to García Luna in briefcases containing between three and five million dollars.
Prosecutors also said Garcia Luna lied to U.S. authorities about his activities for the cartel when he applied for naturalization in 2018.
If convicted for drug conspiracy , García Luna faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment .
Richard P. Donoghue
, the Attorney for the Eastern District of New York , announced:
“ Garcia Luna stands accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán ’s Sinaloa Cartel while he controlled Mexico’s Federal Police Force and was responsible for ensuring public safety in Mexico.” Donoghue added the arrest “demonstrates our resolve to bring to justice those who help cartels inflict devastating harm on the United States and Mexico, regardless of the positions they held while committing their crimes .”
Donoghue thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) offices in New York and Houston, Homeland Security Investigations , New York Field Office (HSI), New York City Police Department (NYPD), and New York State Police (NYSP) for their work on this case.
The investigation against Genaro García was led by “the New York Strike Force , a crime-fighting unit comprising federal, state and local law enforcement agencies supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.”
The case is being prosecuted by the Eastern District’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section and Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael P. Robotti , Ryan Harris, and Erin Reid are in charge of the prosecution.
After the news broke, Felipe Calderón said he didn't know any details in regards to the case:
A couple of days later, he insisted he did not know any details:
For years, there have been rumors surrounding García Luna :
Now, Mexico's Attorney General's Office has announced it will look to extradite García Luna to Mexico for his alleged collaboration with a Mexican drug cartel as well as for several other crimes .
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