Mexico’s former Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

Former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna was denied a motion for a new trial by U.S. Judge Brian Cogan on Wednesday, Aug. 7, leaving the convicted drug trafficker to be sentenced for his crimes on Oct. 9.

The former security official, who worked with the Sinaloa Cartel during his tenure in Mexico’s federal government, was charged in U.S. federal court in 2023 with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine, international distribution of cocaine, and making false statements, for which he faces life in prison.

Though García Luna’s legal representation had requested, Cogan ruled that none of the reasons presented “are sufficient to conduct a new trial, and therefore, the defendant’s motion is denied.”

“The motion fails for numerous reasons, including that it is presented against the backdrop of – as the defendant virtually admits – his unsuccessful efforts to bribe inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center after his trial to create false evidence, which was introduced in this motion without the knowledge of his attorneys (i.e., his attorneys knew they were introducing the evidence he obtained, but did not know it was false),” read Cogan’s decision.

For his part, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) reacted to the news during his daily morning press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 7, by calling Cogan’s decision “very good” and noting that García Luna’s actions “did a lot of damage” to Mexico’s international reputation.