García Luna to be transferred to New York for his trial

On December 10th, Genaro García Luna , Mexico’s former Security Minister was arrested in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. Today, during a hearing, it was announced that he will be transferred to New York , where he will face his trial , which will be led by the same judge who jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán for life.

On December 17th, a federal judge ordered García Luna to remain in jail , where he will be held without bond in a Texas jail to await his trial.

During the hearing, which lasted around 15 minutes, the former security chief notified the judge his desire to be transferred to New York as soon as possible.

A federal prosecutor announced that García Luna will be transferred to New York in the next 24-48 hours.

The former security chief will remain in prison in Texas until he is transferred to New York.

During El Chapo ’s trial, Genaro García was accused of taking millions in bribes in order to allow the Sinaloa Cartel to operate with impunity .

In previous days, it was revealed that García Luna gave up his right to communicate with Mexican diplomats in the U.S. and to request consular support .

Moreover, U.S. prosecutors think that if García Luna had been granted a bond , he would flee the country and ask for protection from the Sinaloa Cartel. According to documents obtained by Univisión, the prosecutors think that if Genaro García is extradited to Mexico, it would be “extremely hard to arrest the accused in Mexico if the Sinaloa Cartel and powerful government officials protect him.”

In recent days, the current Security Minister , Alfonso Durazo Montaño, said it would be naive to think that García Luna acted by himself, as he had to build a criminal network to protect the Sinaloa Cartel :

“It would be naive to think that he acted by himself. There is no one who can offer protection to a criminal organization , much less one as big as the Sinaloa Cartel once was, if not through a protection network.”

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