Mexico’s President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, called for prudence on Monday and stated that the investigation for links to drug trafficking is open against former Security Secretary Genaro García Luna and not against former President Felipe Calderón.
López Obrador assured that the former Mexican president could be unaware of the «links» between García Luna, who was in Calderón’s cabinet, and drug trafficking, although he asked not to anticipate events and to wait for the resolution of the trial, as reported by the newspaper ‘Proceso’.
«We do not persecute anyone. Revenge is not my forte and there is also a popular court and the people are very aware of the damage caused by those who governed in the neoliberal period,» the current Mexican president stressed.
This same Monday, on the fourth day of the judicial process, a former leader of the Milenio cartel, Oscar Nava Valencia, declared that he himself paid the ex-secretary some ten million dollars in cash bribes for information and protection.
Last Monday, Beltran Leyva cartel lieutenant Sergio Villarreal Barragan, alias ‘El Grande’, assured in another session that he saw Garcia Luna receive bribes and that he was even on the «payroll» of the Sinaloa Cartel, while the defense lawyer argued that there is no evidence or photos of the accusations against his client.
Villarreal, a key player in the Beltrán Leyva cartel and known for his bloodthirsty and cruel character, was the first of 70 witnesses for the prosecution, among which is also drug trafficker Jesús ‘Rey’ Zambada, who brought up García Luna’s name in the trial against Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias ‘El Chapo’. Also on the witness list is former prosecutor Édgar Veytia, alias ‘El Diablo’, convicted of corruption.
García Luna was arrested in Dallas, Texas, after charges were filed against him in New York for conspiring to traffic drugs and making false statements, as well as receiving millions of dollars from the ‘El Chapo’ cartel.
The former public security secretary is charged with ties to organized crime for allegedly trying to conceal assistance provided to drug traffickers. He could face a minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.
According to previous investigations, in exchange for the bribes, the Sinaloa Cartel obtained safe passage for its drug shipments, as well as sensitive legal information about ongoing investigations against the cartel and rival groups.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
