Former Mexican Top Cop’s U.S. Drug Sentence Fuels Political Controversy

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This week, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan sentenced Genaro Garcia Luna to 38 years in prison on several drug conspiracy, trafficking, and criminal enterprise charges following his previous convictions. Garcia Luna served as Mexico’s Public Security Secretary from 2006 to 2012, making him the head of the country’s federal police. However, after a highly publicized trial in 2023, it was revealed that Garcia Luna had worked with and taken money from drug traffickers — something he denies even after having been found guilty.

The day after the sentencing, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum used Garcia Luna’s sentencing to harshly criticize former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who was in office at the time.
“He put a drug dealer in charge of security policy,” Sheinbaum said Thursday during one of her news conferences. “The people cannot forget what happened during that six-year term.”

Sheinbaum called Calderon a hypocrite and questioned how he could start a hyperviolent war on drugs and for six years not realize that Garcia Luna was tied with cartel leaders.

Sheinbaum’s comment came in response to a series of tweets by Calderon regarding Garcia Luna’s sentencing, where the former president tried to distance himself, claiming he trusted Garcia Luna because, at the time, he did not have any evidence tying him to criminal activity. Calderon said he also did not receive any information about it from Mexican or foreign intelligence services.

In the past, Calderon and other previous presidents have clashed with Sheinbaum’s mentor and predecessor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, over his soft approach to drug cartels. AMLO’s political opponents have accused him of working with various criminal organizations, primarily the Sinaloa Cartel, and of having received money for his presidential campaign.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     Calderonshei