Just a few days after the start of the trial against Genaro García Luna in which his guilt or innocence in drug trafficking to the United States will be determined, the prosecutors of that country detailed that among the witnesses against the former Secretary of Public Security there will be drug traffickers convicts and government officials.
García Luna trafficked drugs to the US, prosecutors said six days after the trial
In a letter from the Department of Justice, it was reported that the US government gave details about the charges against the former Secretary of Security
According to a document cited by the reporter Ángel Hernández, from MillenniumGarcía Luna is specifically accused of having allowed the traffic of more than 52 tons of cocaine to the United States in at least six shipments between 2002 and 2008.
According to the journalist, half of the transfers occurred during the government of vincent foxwhen he headed the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI), and the rest already during his term in the Ministry of Public Security, in the six-year term of Felipe Calderón.
Trial against García Luna: they set a date to choose the final members of the jury
The names of those chosen will not be released to the general public and will be protected by the United States Marshals during the trial due to the “dangerousness of the defendant.”
Added to these charges is the apparent issuance of false testimonysince the Department of Justice of the United States mentioned in a document that, in an interview after his arrest, García Luna lied and even denied having met with members of any criminal organization.
The consideration of including convicted drug traffickers among the witnesses against the former Mexican official opens the door, added the journalist, for figures like Édgar Valdez Villarreal, alias the barbie; Sergio Villarreal Barragan, aka The big one; Jesus Reynaldo, The king zambadaand even Sandra Ávila Beltrán, The Queen of the Pacific.
They requested to block the statements of Genaro García Luna that occurred after his arrest
A document addressed to Judge Brian Cogan requested that they be prevented from presenting photos, also assured that the defendant collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel
Although up to now the final list of people who will testify against García Luna has not been confirmed, previous collaborations of these characters with the United States government increase the probability that they will cooperate, once again, for the trial that will begin on January 9, 2023.
The participation of these figures as protected witnesses in previous cases have been essential for the US government to bring famous drug traffickers to justice.
Sergio Villareal, The big onewas one of the key pieces to understand the common thread between the drug cartels and Genaro García Luna, according to the journalist Jesús Lemus in his book Graduateof 2020.
According to their own testimonies, Villarreal Barragán participated in the kidnapping, torture and dismemberment of at least 90 people during his years of service in the narco.
entered the Judicial police in 1993 and, from there, forged multiple alliances with members of the Juarez cartela group of which he became the leader after the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the lord of the skies. Years later, specifically in 2006, he was recruited by the Beltrán Leyva brothers.
After being arrested in 2010, The big one agreed to serve as a witness with the US government and was extradited in 2012. In the neighboring country, already with judicial immunity and the offer of a new life, he told what was necessary for them to arrest the barbiealfredo The Mochomo Beltran Leyva, The king Zambada, Eduardo Arellano Félix and Jorge Costilla Sánchez, alias the Cossamong other bosses.
For their part, multiple reports and US judicial documents have evidenced the active collaboration of the barbie with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since 2004, when he was in the Beltrán Leyva cartel.
His work as an informant or “mole” was essential for one of Chapo’s captures and for the location of Arturo Beltran Leyva, The Beardswho was killed in Cuernavaca in 2009.
With respect to King Zambada, brother of Ismael the maywas one of the main declarants who revealed the link between the former Secretary of Security and the Sinaloa Cartel.
During the so-called “trial of the century” against El Chapo Guzmán in New York, which occurred in 2018, Jesús Reynaldo Zambada confessed that García Luna would have received millions of dollars in bribes.
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