Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s ex-security chief and Sinaloa Cartel ally, sentenced to 38 years in prison in US

Mexico City, Mexico – Former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna was sentenced in a New York District Court Wednesday to more than 38 years in prison for five counts of drug trafficking and organized crime.  

Once the highest-ranking law enforcement official in Mexico, leading security agencies in the country and outlining its peacekeeping strategies, the 56-year-old disgraced cop is being sentenced to 466 months in prison and a USD $2 million fine for his decade-long collaboration with the leading drug organization in the hemisphere, the Sinaloa Cartel. 

District Senior Judge Brian M. Cogan presided over the hearing and handed the sentence to García Luna, deciding against the prosecution’s request for life in prison and a USD $5 million fine. 

Sinaloa Cartel leader and García Luna’s employer “El Chapo” via Creative Commons

García Luna was convicted of five charges, including continuous participation in a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute cocaine internationally, distribution and possession of cocaine, and importation of cocaine, as well as making false statements to authorities.

The former security chief was arrested in December 2019 by United States authorities in Dallas, Texas. His four-week trial ended in a conviction in February 2023, when he was found guilty of all charges and linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. 

Through a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that during Genaro García’s run as chief of the now-defunct Federal Investigative Agency (2000-2006) and the Secretary of Public Security (2006-2012), García Luna assisted and empowered the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for bribes, using his power and Mexico’s security agencies to do the cartel’s bidding. 

“In exchange for bribes, the defendant’s Federal Police Force acted as bodyguards and escorts for the Cartel, allowing Cartel members to wear police uniforms and badges and helping to unload shipments of cocaine from planes at Mexico City’s airport, then delivering the cocaine to the Cartel,” read the statement. 

Genaro García Luna and President Felipe Calderón (center left) via Creative Commons

As chief of security during former President Felipe Calderón’s administration, García Luna designed and enforced a peacekeeping strategy labeled the “War on Drugs,” a military operation meant to battle the very same criminals he was protecting. 

The war on drugs was the signature project of President Calderón and García Luna, a violent takeover of drug trafficking in Mexico that resulted in over 250,000 homicides and an increase in forced disappearance and human rights violations committed by the military and García Luna’s men.

Throughout his career, García Luna was both a key ally to the Sinaloa Cartel and a respectable official to foreign governments and international security organizations, being commemorated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Interpol while amassing a fortune for the Sinaloa Cartel. 

Through his X account, García Luna’s former colleague, ex-President Calderón, denied he was aware of his right hand man’s ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and assured he never once was briefed on possible criminal activities of García Luna. 

In a heartfelt letter shared by García Luna one day before his sentencing, the now-convicted felon urged Judge Cogan for mercy. 

Through a handwritten five-page letter, he asserted that all allegations made against him were fabrications meant to protect the current ruling party in Mexico and its criminal allies. Luna asked to be freed and return to his family and civil life. 

“Dirty money, bad habits, and misconduct cannot be hidden even in extreme conditions. Your Honor, with the deepest of my feelings, I respectfully request that you allow me to return to my family as soon as possible and reintegrate into the beloved society that I respect and belong to,” the now-prisoner wrote.