⁍ Genaro Garcia Luna led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005.

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⁍ He was secretary of public security from 2006 to 2012, and was once considered a leader in Mexico’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.

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⁍ Prosecutors said the Sinaloa cartel bribed Garcia Luna throughout his time in government to ensure safe passage for its drugs.

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– A former Mexican official has pleaded not guilty to charges he protected Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Sinaloa drug cartel, Reuters reports. Genaro Garcia Luna led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005, was secretary of public security from 2006 to 2012, and was considered a leader in Mexico’s efforts to combat drug trafficking. But prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel bribed Garcia Luna throughout his time in government to ensure safe passage for its drugs, obtain information about rival cartels, and learn about Mexican probes into its activities. The cartel delivered bribes to Garcia Luna in briefcases at least twice, prosecutors said. Garcia Luna had been living in Florida prior to his December 2019 arrest in Dallas. He was detained following his initial plea, when prosecutors called him an ‘unacceptable’ flight risk. Guzman is appealing his February 2019 conviction and sentence of life without parole for smuggling tons of drugs to the United States in a colorful, decades-long career. He is incarcerated at ADX Florence, a maximum-security facility known as the nation’s most secure ‘Supermax’ prison. Cogan oversaw Guzman’s trial. Garcia Luna led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005, was secretary of public security from 2006 to 2012, and was once considered a leader in Mexico’s efforts to combat drug trafficking. But prosecutors said the Sinaloa cartel bribed Garcia Luna throughout his time in government to ensure safe passage for its drugs, obtain information about rival cartels, and learn about Mexican probes into its activities. The cartel delivered bribes to Garcia Luna in briefcases at least twice.