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During Felipe Calderón’s administration , the Public Administration Ministry knew about Genaro García Luna ’s links to drug traffickers and his irregularities but ignored the complaints because it considered that they were “inadmissible” of that they “lacked elements” to launch an investigation.
The Public Administration Ministry received 12 complaints against García Luna in regard to illicit enrichment, links to organized crime, abuse of power, negligence, the wrongful exercise of powers, contempt, neglect, and lack of attention in the fulfillment of its obligations . However, since the former Security Minister was arrested in the U.S. on December 10, accused of receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel , former President Felipe Calderón has denied knowing García Luna had dealing with the bloody Mexican cartel .
However; according to official documents, internal oversight bodies in the Security Ministry, the Federal Police, and the Public Administration Office did receive complaints that warned about García Luna’s links to organized crime .
One of the complaints was filed in 2010 when former police officers complained about the links between organized crime , García Luna, and those close to him: Luis Cárdenas Palomino and Armando Espinosa de Benito.
The former agents filed the complaint anonymously and included evidence such as a series of messages officials received when they traveled throughout the country on inspection, supervision, security, and surveillance duties.
The majority of messages were found by the agents in bridges in Guerrero, Coahuila, and Michoacán. The messages accused García Luna, Palomino, and Espinosa of breaking the rules and of protecting a drug cartel.
However, the complaint was dismissed because the police officers refused to release their names and because they couldn’t prove that what the messages said was true.
The documents are evidence that during the governments of Vicente Fox , Felipe Calderón , and Enrique Peña Nieto , internal oversight bodies and the Public Administration Ministry knew about 23 complaints against the former government official. Nevertheless, the majority of the complaints were filed during Calderón’s administration.
García Luna's wealth
In March 2012, a citizen filed a complaint against García Luna and accused him of a significant increase in his wealth , which was unexplainable and unjustified.
The document included information provided by Mexico City’s Public Commerce Registry, as well as information about his asset declarations between 2002 and 2011, which showed García Luna had acquired several properties over the years.
Between 2006 and 2008, the former Security Minister purchased three properties and a plot of land , where he later built a property valuated in MXN $20 million, he also paid for an MXN $2.3 million property. According to the documents, “the public servant didn’t have the salary or enough savings to purchase that land or build an expensive property. On the contrary, in May 2008 he said he was in debt in late 2007.”
The same complaint requested the Public Administration Ministry to investigate the increase in his wealth and accused him of the improper exercise of public service because he failed to present his police certification through several evaluations and which were necessary for police officers.
Moreover, in 2008, García Luna’s debts amounted to MXN $6.8 million; nevertheless, he purchased a plot of land for MXN $4 million that same year, where he built a new home. The complaint had no results and was dismissed in 2012.
However, the first complaints against Genaro García were filed during Vicente Fox’s administration , when he was the head of the AFI .
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Corruption and embezzlement
On May 20, 2008, Javier Herrera Valles , who was the head of the Federal Police during Calderón’s administration, filed a complaint against García Luna for corruption . Herrera Valles also accused the former government official of injustice , arbitraries , and harassment . Agent Herrera said he often improvised and that the operations against organized crime showed no results because they were not properly planned and the officers were not trained. The complaint was later dismissed.
In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, Herrera Valles said that many people inside the Federal Police didn’t agree with García Luna but didn’t denounce him because they were punished, threatened, or transferred to the most dangerous areas in the country: “I was the carried of many complaints, I alerted the President through a letter. I also told him about other colleagues who sent a letter to the comptrolled but after what happened to me (his imprisonment ) the complaints came to a halt.”
Besides dismissing his complaint, internal oversight bodies launched an investigation against Herrera Valles.
In 2011, the PRD also filed a lawsuit against Genaro García Luna for embezzlement; the public resources were used to shoot a TV series broadcasted by Televisa .
Criticism erupted after it was revealed that Facundo Rosas, the Federal Police Commissioner, authorities Televisa to use its facilities, vehicles, helicopters, and uniforms to shoot TV series “El Equipo” (The Team), as well as using 353 police officers as extras.
In July 2011, the Public Administration Office said there were no irregularities in the making of the series because the facilities, equipment, and staff were included in a contract signed with Televisa.
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The first complaints were filed during Fox’s administration
The first complaints against Genaro García Luna were filed during Vicente Fox’s administration when it was discovered that a dozen public servants from the Federal Police allocated MXN $312.6 million to make several purchases without a tender . The internal investigation was labeled a “misuse of attributions and capacities.”
Back then, Genaro García was accused of improper purchases after using resources to pay for his travel expenses .
The events led authorities to file a lawsuit against García Luna before the Attorney General’s Office in 2001. However, authorities said there was not enough evidence and dismissed the case a year later.
While several administrations dismissed the complaints against García Luna , the U.S. discovered that the former Mexican officials have USD $4 million worth of properties that he purchased through straw men and shell companies.
On February 27, during a hearing to decide whether or not García Luna could be released on bail , U.S. prosecutors revealed the former Security Minister owns several properties and a yacht .
Journalists at EL UNIVERSAL reached out to Felipe Calderón during the making of this article but he declined to be interviewed.
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