Ex-Mexican security chief sentenced for 39 years in U.S.

A former Mexican secretary of public security, Genaro García Luna, has been sentenced to 39 years in prison by a court in New York for collaborating with the Sinaloa cartel.

The group is led by notorious drug lord, Joaquín “El Chapo’’ Guzmán.

The sentencing followed Garcia Luna’s conviction in February, where a jury found him guilty of accepting millions in bribes to protect the cartel’s drug trafficking operations for more than a decade.

The United States Department of Justice said on Thursday the judge also imposed a $2 million dollars fine on the convict.

“After years of destructive narcotic trafficking and deceit, Garcia Luna will spend nearly 40 years where he belongs: federal prison,’’ said Breon Peace.

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York also confirmed the sentencing in a statement.

“Garcia Luna accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel to allow millions of kilograms of cocaine to flood the streets of the U.S.,’’ it added.

García Luna, 56, was Mexico’s top law enforcement official between 2006 and 2012 under then-President Felipe Calderón, responsible for leading the fight against drug cartels.

He was arrested in Dallas, Texas, in 2019.

His defence had claimed he was a victim of revenge by criminals he helped incarcerate with U.S. cooperation.

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