Imprisoned ex-Mexican minister mandated to pay billions in reparations to Mexico in U.S. court. - U.S. court convicts ex-Mexican minister, once imprisoned for doling out billions to Mexico.
In a significant ruling, a US court has ordered former Mexican Minister Genaro García Luna to pay nearly $749 million and his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, to pay approximately $1.74 billion to Mexico. The sum is three times the initial demand by the Mexican government in a corruption and money laundering lawsuit involving public contracts.
The lawsuit, filed in the US, alleges that García Luna and his associates were involved in corrupt activities, including bribery, while García Luna served as Mexico's Secretary of Public Security from 2006 to 2012. He is the highest-ranking former Mexican government official to face drug charges in the US.
García Luna was convicted in a US federal court in 2023 for his involvement in drug trafficking, corruption, and money laundering. He was sentenced to over 38 years in prison and fined $2 million. Subsequent guilty verdicts were issued against García Luna, his wife, and five of their companies for failing to appear in court, leading to the seizure of nearly $3 million in assets and properties.
Investigations by the New York federal prosecutor's office found that García Luna colluded with the Sinaloa Cartel, then led by drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, to smuggle at least 53 tons of cocaine into the US from 2001. He tipped off drug dealers about law enforcement operations, arrested members of rival cartels, and helped other corrupt officials secure influential positions in return for millions of dollars in bribes.
Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit reported that the money obtained through these corrupt activities was transferred abroad using tax havens and the purchase of properties and other assets in Florida. A business group owned by the García Luna family is accused of receiving 30 public contracts and over $745 million.
This ruling comes after García Luna left public service in 2012 and moved to the US, where he allegedly used his extensive contacts to secure lucrative contracts with the Mexican government until his arrest in December 2019. The US Justice Department has linked the drug trafficking conspiracy, which contributed to thousands of deaths in both Mexico and the US, to García Luna's collusion with the Sinaloa Cartel.
This significant financial penalty is intended to address the extensive criminal and corrupt activities undertaken by García Luna during his tenure as a top Mexican government official. The US justice system continues to address similar cases to combat drug trafficking and corruption in Mexico and the US.
- The convicted ex-minister, Genaro Garcia Luna, and his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, are charged with using their extensive contacts to finance their operations, involving drug trafficking, corruption, and money laundering, primarily in the realm of politics and general-news, crime-and-justice.
- The United States court ruling, which requires Genaro Garcia Luna to pay approximately $749 million and his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, to pay around $1.74 billion to Mexico, is a significant step taken by the US justice system to combat drug trafficking and corruption, particularly in the areas of politics, finance, and the general-news category of crime-and-justice, stemming from activities in both the United States and Mexico.
