Genaro García Luna, the official who for years led Mexico's fight against the violent drug trade, has been sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in the United States for accepting bribes from the cartels he was supposed to be fighting.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan announced the ruling Wednesday during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for García Luna, 56, who was found guilty at trial in February 2023 of engaging in a criminal drug enterprise, participating in various conspiracies, and making false statements. was.
They say Garcia Luna accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, once led by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, in exchange for protecting its members from arrest and protecting cocaine shipments. claimed to have done so.
In announcing the 460-month sentence, Cogan said Garcia Luna “there must be light at the end of the tunnel” and credited him with mentoring fellow inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. . But the judge said Garcia Luna was leading a “double life” that did more harm than good.
“Aside from your very pleasant demeanor and articulate language, you have the same kind of ferocity that El Chapo has, just in a different way,” Kogan said.
García Luna served as Mexico's Minister of Public Security from 2006 to 2012.
His lawyer, Cesar de Castro, argued that Cogan should receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, noting that Cogan has already spent nearly five years in prison since his arrest in 2019. suggested that it should be declared.
The defense argued at trial that former members of the Sinaloa Cartel who cooperated with prosecutors and testified against Garcia Luna improperly implicated him in an effort to reduce their own sentences. was.
Before learning of the verdict, Garcia Luna told the court that the Mexican government and criminal organizations had slandered him. “I did not commit any of these crimes,” he said. “I'm not the person the culprit is pointing to.”
El Chapo was convicted on drug charges in 2019 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.
