García Luna bribed journalists and tried to silence witnesses: U.S.

The New York prosecutor’s office asked for a request for evidence to present documents in which it claims that Genaro García Luna, former secretary of Public Security, bribed journalists and also tried to silence witnesses.
U.S. authorities obtained the information from a series of recordings in which the former security secretary participated; the documents are available in the electronic system of the U.S. federal courts.
Regarding the pressure on journalists, the documents presented establish that from 2009 or 2010, García Luna used money obtained through corruption to pay bribes to a media outlet with the aim of preventing negative articles about him.

“Evidence about the defendant’s efforts to silence journalists helps explain how he was able to assist the Sinaloa cartel for years without being detected or arrested,” prosecutors wrote.
The document does not clarify the name of the journalist or the media outlet for which he allegedly worked.
In the documents released, prosecutors say Garcia Luna mentioned Jesus “El Rey” Zambada, a former Head of the Sinaloa Cartel, in that conversation, which was recorded by U.S. government officials.

U.S. authorities are trying to include a conversation in which the former official said he planned to “harm witnesses against him.”
They explain that a person Garcia Luna was talking to — identified only as “Individual 1” — gave him the phone number provided by public security agents of an undercover agent who pretended to be a member of the Russian mafia.
Garcia Luna, 53, was arrested in December 2019 in Dallas, Texas. He is charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine for allegedly helping the Sinaloa cartel ship tons of drugs to the United States in exchange for millionaire bribes between 2001 and 2012, and making false statements in 2018.
If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
From 2001 to 2005, García Luna headed the defunct Federal Investigation Agency, charged with fighting corruption and organized crime, and from 2006 to 2012 he was secretary of Public Security in the government of Felipe Calderón, with control over the federal police.
With information from Aristegui News
 
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Original source in Spanish

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