PULSE NEWS MEXICO

The legal fate of former Mexican National Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, who is accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Drug Cartel under now-imprisoned capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, is due to be determined on Tuesday, Feb. 21, once the New York jury finishes deliberation.

García Luna, once the public face of Mexico’s war on drugs, is accused of secretly accepting millions of dollars from the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for turning a blind eye to its members’ illegal activities.

Arrested in 2019 in the United States, García Luna has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, he faces from 10 years to life in prison.

Closing arguments in the case against him were delivered on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and the jury began its deliberations the following day.

The case, which has been closely followed by the Mexican press and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who has already declared García Luna guilty, was built on the testimony of nine cooperating witnesses, mostly convicted cartel members.

García Luna’s lawyers have claimed that the witnesses against him have testified in exchange for their own sentences being reduced, adding that their accounts cannot be trusted.

García Luna, 54, served as the head of public security during the administration of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, between 2006 and 2012.

Allegations against García Luna came to light during the trial for El Chapo, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in 2019.