Corrupt Officer or Cartel Enemy? Former Mexico Drug Czar’s US Trial Kicks Off

Corrupt Officer or Cartel Enemy? Former Mexico Drug Czar’s US Trial Kicks Off
Mexico's Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna attends a meeting with the Human Rights commission at the Senate in Mexico City on Nov. 29, 2012. Tomas Bravo/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

NEW YORK—U.S. prosecutors on Monday accused a former top Mexican official on trial for allegedly taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel of betraying his country, while his defense said prosecutors were being played by drug traffickers out for revenge.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Genaro Garcia Luna, who led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005 and was Public Security Minister from 2006 to 2012, gave the Sinaloa Cartel information about its rivals and safe passage for drug shipments in exchange for tens of millions of dollars.