MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president said Monday that the U.S. government should investigate its own officials who had ties to Mexico’s former top security official, who is currently facing trial accused of taking tens of millions of dollars in bribes to protect the Sinaloa cartel.
Former Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna was known for his close co-operation with U.S. law enforcement during his tenure from 2006-2012.
“I think the U.S. government should, now that the investigation has started, get to the bottom of this and also investigate officials from the DEA, the CIA, the FBI who were involved at the time, because there was without doubt co-operation, they worked together,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“This isn’t just corruption,” López Obrador said. “This is criminal association between governments, or between government officials,” he said, referring to the administration of his predecessor, Felipe Calderón. López Obrador took office in December 2018.
A federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn recently denied bail to Garcia Luna, saying the $1 million bond that the defence proposed would not ensure his appearance on charges he conspired to traffic cocaine and made false statements.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Robotti said Garcia Luna could spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison if convicted of shielding Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s drug-trafficking syndicate.
Garcia Luna denies the charges and says he intends to fight them at trial.
The Associated Press
