What was the key move of Genaro García Luna’s lawyers against “El Lobo” and his testimony in the trial

“El Lobo” took the stand to testify against García Luna. (Darkroom)

The second week of hearings began in the trial against Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security, who is accused of having collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel for more than a decade.

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On the fourth day of hearings, Óscar Orlando Nava Valencia, alias “El Lobo”, took the witness stand at the Brooklyn Court to participate as a witness against the former official.

One of his most notable statements was the alleged delivery of million-dollar bribes (which he referred to as “arrangements”) to García Luna as part of the criminal group’s agreements with the Mexican government.

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According to his testimony, “El Lobo” -former leader of the Milenio Cartel- made a first payment to the “super policeman” in 2006 for 2.5 million dollars as part of a collection ordered by Arturo Beltrán Leyva to the high command of the Federation (an alliance made up of cartels such as the Sinaloa, Beltrán Leyva and Juárez cartels).

“El Lobo” corroborated the previous testimonies alluding to the payment of bribes by organized crime to García Luna.

The following year, “El Lobo” personally paid García Luna the sum of 10 million dollars in exchange for protection and the release of a shipment of more than 20 tons of cocaine.

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The drug had been seized by Navy personnel in Manzanillo, Colima, in what became one of the largest drug seizures in the history of Mexico up to that time. The cocaine came from Colombia and it is presumed that one half belonged to Nava Valencia and the other to Arturo Beltrán Leyva.

To avoid a collection and compensation of up to 50 million dollars to their Colombian partners, the criminal leaders would have gone to García Luna.

However, during his appearance in the Brooklyn Court, “El Lobo” was harshly questioned by the lawyers of the former Secretary of Security and confessed that in multiple talks he had with personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between 2010 and 2020 , he had never mentioned García Luna when talking about his criminal operations.

Oscar Nava Valencia was the first witness summoned by the Prosecutor’s Office for the second week of hearings. (Reuters)

According to what was reported by journalists Ángel Hernández and Juan Alberto Vázquez for Milenio, García Luna’s legal defense asked Nava Valencia if, when previously speaking about corruption in the Mexican government and its links to drug trafficking, it had never occurred to him to mention the then Secretary of Public Safety.

“It is that there were issues that were not touched on in depth”, was the response of “Lobo”.

“You said that you had bribed the Secretary of Defense, Guillermo Galván Galván, but you did not remember to mention García Luna,” said Florian Miedel, defender of the former security command.

“At that time there was no opportunity,” said “El Lobo” in an attempt not to give in to the debates of the litigant.

Other journalists who followed the trial from the Court also reported that the fear of any type of reprisals was another argument put forward by “El Lobo” for not having mentioned García Luna earlier during his years of collaboration with the United States government.

Oscar Nava Valencia had not mentioned García Luna in more than a decade of meetings with DEA ​​agents. (Reuters)

Of the witnesses who have participated in García Luna’s trial so far, “El Lobo” was the second who declared having personally met García Luna.

Previously, Sergio Villarreal Barragán, alias “El Grande”, stated that Arturo Beltrán Leyva (who is also known as “El Botas Blancas”) would have met with García Luna on at least 20 occasions for the alleged delivery of millionaire bribes, meetings in which he himself had been present.

Óscar Nava Valencia assumed the leadership of the Milenio Cartel after the arrest of his uncle Armando Valencia Cornelio, alias “El Juanito”, in August 2003.

“El Lobo” and his brother Juan (“El Tigre”) were in charge of planning and trafficking cocaine from various Central and South American countries that arrived at the port of Manzanillo. The collaborating witness against García Luna today was arrested in October 2009 and extradited to the US in January 2011.

Three years later, in 2014, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his participation in the transfer of more than three tons of drugs from Panama.

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