Imprisoned Former Mexican Minister in the United States Faced with a Deportation-Linked Billion-Dollar Compensation Order to Mexico - In the U.S., a previously incarcerated ex-Mexican minister stands found guilty for transferring billions to Mexico.
Mexican Ex-Minister Imprisoned in USA Faces Billion-Dollar Restitution to Mexico
After being convicted for cocaine trafficking and corruption, Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican Secretary of Public Security, has been ordered to pay nearly $749 million to Mexico. His wife has been ordered to pay $1.74 billion. This penalty exceeds the initial demand by Mexico by three times.
In a civil lawsuit, Mexico accused García Luna of corruption and money laundering involving over $745 million in public contracts. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in New York alleges that García Luna assisted the Sinaloa cartel, then led by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in smuggling at least 53 tons of cocaine into the U.S. between 2001 and 2012.
García Luna's corruption extended beyond tipping off drug dealers about law enforcement operations and arresting members of rival cartels. He also allegedly helped other corrupt officials secure influential positions, pocketing millions in bribes. After leaving public service in 2012, García Luna moved to the U.S., where he used his extensive contacts to secure lucrative contracts with the Mexican government until his arrest in December 2019.
In October 2024, García Luna was sentenced to over 38 years in prison and a $2 million fine for his collaboration with the Sinaloa cartel by a judge in New York. He is the highest-ranking former Mexican government official to face drug charges in the U.S. He served as Mexico's Secretary of Public Security from 2006 to 2012 and headed the federal police force AFI from 2001 to 2005.
Nearly $3 million has been seized from García Luna's assets and properties as part of the ongoing legal proceedings. The financial penalty ordered by the court is a substantial addition to the criminal sanctions already imposed.
- USA
- Mexico
- García Luna
- Wife
- Billion-dollar restitution
- Drug trafficking
- Corruption
- Money laundering
- Cocaine
Following his conviction for drug trafficking, corruption, and money laundering, Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican Secretary of Public Security, was ordered to pay a billions-dollar restitution to Mexico, with his wife ordered to pay an even higher amount. This case, serving as a stark example of political and monetary corruption, has profound implications for both the USA and Mexico, particularly in the fields of general-news, crime-and-justice, and politics.
