Mexico's former top cop appears in New York court for drug trafficking trial

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) - The trial of a former top Mexican law enforcement official who is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes in return for helping the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo kicked off Monday.

Opening arguments began in a Brooklyn federal court, with the prosecutors accusing Genaro Garcia Luna of aiding Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Sinaloa Cartel to traffic drugs to the US.

"The person who was supposed to be in charge of fighting the Sinaloa Cartel was actually its most valuable asset,'' said Prosecutor Philip Pilmar. ''He is a man who betrayed his country and ours.''

Garcia Luna's lawyer, Cesar de Castro, rejected the accusations, saying ''there is no money, no photos, no video, no texts, no emails, no recordings, no documents, no credible, believable evidence that Genaro Garcia Luna helped the cartel.''

The defense lawyer said the cartel members who agreed to testify against Garcia Luna were seeking to lessen their sentences by lying.

Garcia Luna, a former Mexican secretary of public security who was known for being the trusted man of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, was arrested in Texas in 2019 for acts of corruption and ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.

He pleaded not guilty to five counts, including trafficking cocaine into the US.