By Allan Lengel
Genaro García Luna, once Mexico’s top security official who was often described as the J. Edgar Hoover of Mexico, was convicted Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, the New York Times reports.
Following three days of deliberation, a jury delivered the guilty verdict — one that quickly resonated in both Mexico and the U.S. Jurors heard testimony from multiple narco traffickers who helped paint a picture of a man who lived a double life and betrayed his people by taking cartel money.
The conviction only confirmed what many Mexicans have long suspected: Some of their most trusted officials have been in cahoots with the powerful and well-heeled drug cartel.
The Times reports:
In the United States, the conviction was celebrated as a signal victory by federal prosecutors who filed the charges against Mr. García Luna in late 2019, after years of whispers, rumors and aborted investigations into his ties with traffickers.
