Mexico’s former security chief ‘took bribes to shield El Chapo’

MEXICO’S former top security official is facing trial in the US, accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa cartel in order to protect drug lord “El Chapo”.

Genaro García Luna, head of the Mexican equivalent of the FBI, was instrumental in spearheading ex-president Felipe Calderón’s war on drug cartels between 2006 and 2012.

However, US prosecutors say that in exchange for millions of dollars, often stuffed in suitcases, Mr García Luna provided the Sinaloa cartel with “safe passage for its drug shipments, sensitive law enforcement information about investigations into the cartel, and information about rival drug cartels”.

The case, which started in New York yesterday with jury selection, could reveal how Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s cartel was able to operate so openly for so long.

The syndicate was founded in 1987 by Guzmán, quickly becoming the biggest organisation of its kind in the world, with revenues exceeding $3billion (£2.45 billion) a year. He escaped prison twice before finally being extradited to the US, where he was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in 2019.

US Attorney Breon Peace wrote in a court filing last week: “At trial, the government expects that numerous witnesses, including several former high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel, will testify about bribes paid to the defendant in exchange for protection. In exchange for these bribes, the defendant provided the cartel with, among other things, safe passage for its drug shipments, sensitive law enforcement information about investigations into the cartel, and information about rival drug cartels.”

Before convicting Guzmán in 2019, jurors heard former cartel member Jesús Zambada testify that he made at least $6million in hidden payments to Mr García Luna, on behalf of his older brother, cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. Mr García Luna denies any wrongdoing.