A judge dismisses Genaro García Luna’s plea for a new trial after uncovering his efforts to bribe fellow inmates to testify falsely.
A U.S. judge has rejected the request of Genaro García Luna, a former senior Mexican official, for a new trial after discovering that he attempted to bribe fellow inmates to provide false testimonies in his favour. García Luna, who previously held a high-ranking position as Mexico’s public safety head, was convicted last year of accepting bribes to protect the very drug cartels he was supposed to combat. He is currently awaiting sentencing and maintains his innocence.
The bribery attempts, uncovered by prosecutors, involved an inmate’s handwritten notes and a covertly recorded conversation between García Luna and a cellmate. His defence team dismissed these allegations, claiming the evidence was unreliable and the recordings unclear. However, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan found the evidence compelling, stating that it clearly illustrated a scheme to obstruct justice through bribery.
García Luna’s defence lawyers expressed their discontent with the decision, highlighting that the court failed to address key issues, such as false testimony from prosecution witnesses and withheld evidence. Despite this setback, García Luna intends to appeal the ruling.
In addition to the bribery claims, defence attorneys presented a sworn statement from an inmate who stated that a prosecution witness at the Brooklyn federal jail had spoken about his intention to falsely testify against García Luna. The inmate also claimed that the witness had used a contraband cellphone to communicate with another government witness. Defence attorneys argued that these communications showed the existence of a conspiracy to frame García Luna, but prosecutors rejected these allegations, noting the mental health condition of the inmate who provided the statement. They also revealed that García Luna had offered up to $2 million to inmates in exchange for false testimonies.
The court documents revealed that García Luna’s efforts to manipulate witnesses included asking an inmate to convince another to fabricate a story about overhearing a conversation that would implicate the second government witness in a false bribery accusation. The intermediary involved in the bribery was reportedly a former cellmate of García Luna, who provided notes and recordings to support the claim.
García Luna, convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, faces a sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison when sentenced on October 9. The former public security secretary of Mexico served in the position from 2006 to 2012.
