Former Mexican Secretary of National Defense Genaro García Luna. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON 

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, former Mexican Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) Genaro García Luna was sentenced to 38 years in U.S. federal prison following a conviction on five drug trafficking charges in U.S. court in February 2023.

Judge Brian Cogan, who presided over the case, issued a sentence of 460 months in prison and a minimum fine of $2 million to García Luna.

After serving his time and release from prison, the 59-year-old must spend at least five years on probation.

“You have a double life. You dress very elegantly. You may say that you respect the law. And you surely believe it. But your conduct is the same as that of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán,” Cogan said at the time of sentencing, referencing the notorious Sinaloa Cartel drug lord who is currently serving his own prison sentence in the United States. “Guzmán would not exist if it weren’t for García Luna.”

Still, García Luna maintained his self-stated innocence ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing, saying, “I have not committed any of those crimes.”

Following the sentencing, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Director Anne Milgram characterized the sentence as a message to organized crime groups operating in Mexico and around the world.

“García Luna accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel to allow millions of kilograms of cocaine to flood the streets of the United States,” said Milgram. “Instead of protecting the citizens of Mexico, García Luna was protecting the drug cartels. The DEA will continue to pursue drug trafficking organizations and those who protect them relentlessly.”

The former Sedena head’s lawyer, César de Castro, said they would appeal García Luna’s sentence.

For his part, Calderón took to social media to say, “I would like to point out: I never had verifiable evidence that implicated him in illicit activities, nor did I receive information in that regard from intelligence agencies, Mexican or foreign, who at the time trusted him and interacted with him.”

“Whoever breaks the law must assume the consequences of their actions,” the former Mexican president concluded.