López Obrador uses the García Luna case to attack former presidents

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday that he expects former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, found guilty in the United States accepting bribes from drug cartels, testify if you received orders from former presidents Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox, strong critics of your government.

During his morning conference, López Obrador said that he hopes that after the verdict García Luna will testify as a witness and report whether he obeyed the orders of the former presidents “or informed the former presidents” of his actions.

During Calderón’s six-year term (2006-2012) García Luna headed security policy, while during the Fox government (2000-2006) he headed the now-defunct Federal Investigation Agency.

The president stated that it would also be favorable for Mexico and the United States for García Luna to report on his ties to the US authorities.

López Obrador ruled out that the case of García Luna, the first former high-ranking Mexican official tried in a US court, could affect the image of Mexico, and indicated that he will help “continue cleaning up corruption”, which has been one of his slogans during his administration. which began in 2018. “It should remain as a lesson that these events should never be repeated again,” he added.

Referring to the statement that Calderón released hours after the verdict – in which he distanced himself from the actions of his former security collaborator -, López Obrador affirmed that the former president went off on a “tangent” by not answering the questions about the case.

“What is the explanation that you are going to give to the people of Mexico about why you named García Luna and if you knew or did not know?” he added.

The president also took the opportunity to criticize the opposition National Action Party (PAN), made up of Calderón and Fox, and the Judiciary for the ruling in favor of the ex-secretary’s wife, Linda Pereyra Gálvez, to unblock a bank account that had been frozen for years. more than three years after a process initiated by the Attorney General’s Office against him for the crime of operations with resources of illegal origin.

Garcia Luna, 54, was convicted Tuesday by an anonymous jury in federal court in New York guilty of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and could be sentenced to between 20 years in prison and life in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for on June 27.

Hours after the announcement of the verdict, Calderón expressed in a statement that the García Luna case did not detract from the struggle of thousands of police, military, prosecutors, judges and other public servants and assured that in the polarized environment that exists in Mexico, the sanction to the ex-secretary “is already being used politically to attack me”.

“I never negotiated or agreed with criminals. I have never used the presidential inauguration to advocate for their interests,” Calderón said when defending his administration, adding that he had fought all criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, which according to witnesses in the trial, was protected by García Luna in exchange for bribes. .

The former president added that he had the support and recognition of the United States in the framework of security cooperation initiatives.

Regarding the repercussions that the verdict could have, Rubén Salazar, director of the local political analysis and strategy firm Etellekt Consultores, told The Associated Press that the information and judicial actions that will come after the verdict will cause a “schism” that could affect many authorities. and politicians of all forces, including the ruling party.

“It is not a trial against García Luna, but against the Mexican narcopolitics,” Salazar said, adding that “the entire political class is trembling right now” because they fear that the United States could also initiate proceedings against them.

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