Ex-Mexico security chief's trial poised to lift lid on US and Mexico's 'war on drugs' [View all]

Earlier DU thread: https://www.democraticunderground.com/110883730

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Source: The Guardian

Ex-Mexico security chief’s trial poised to lift lid on US and Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’

Genaro García Luna, accused of accepting millions in bribes from cartels, in trial that could implicate officials on both sides of border

Oscar Lopez in Mexico City
Mon 16 Jan 2023 11.30 GMT
Last modified on Mon 16 Jan 2023 20.49 GMT

One of Mexico’s most powerful former officials will stand trial in the US this week, charged with accepting million-dollar bribes from a violent cartel in a case with profound political implications that could expose the inner workings of the “war on drugs” on both sides of the border.

Genaro García Luna, a former head of Mexico’s equivalent of the FBI who went on to lead the country’s security ministry, was arrested in Texas in 2019, charged with conspiring to traffic cocaine and lying to the US government.

He was subsequently charged with taking multimillion-dollar bribes from the powerful Sinaloa cartel, once run by the drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in exchange for allowing it to operate with impunity, all while he was supposedly spearheading Mexico’s anti-drug efforts.

The accusations against García Luna surfaced during El Chapo’s trial, when one of the Sinaloa cartel’s members testified that he had given the former security minister briefcases filled with cash. If convicted, the former official faces up to life in prison.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/16/genaro-garcia-luna-mexican-security-head-trial-brooklyn

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