International
Mexico gripped by ex-security chief’s US drugs trial
January 27 | By AFP | Samir Tounsi |
Mexico is on tenterhooks awaiting fresh revelations from the US trial of former security chief Genaro Garcia Luna, accused of receiving vast sums of money to allow the notorious Sinaloa cartel to smuggle cocaine.
The trial of Garcia Luna, who was Mexico’s public security minister from 2006 to 2012, began on Monday at the same New York court that handed convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman a life sentence in 2019.
The prosecution’s first witness, an ex-police officer who later worked for Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel, said he had witnessed former gang boss Arturo Beltran Leyva, who was killed in 2009, give bribes to Garcia Luna.
“He was paid until Beltran’s last day,” Sergio Villarreal Barragan said in Spanish.
In exchange for money, Garcia Luna provided information about police operations, Villarreal Barragan testified — claims denied by lawyers for the 54-year-old ex-minister, who has pleaded not guilty.
Mexican media have given blow-by-blow accounts of the proceedings, while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has promised daily updates at his morning news conferences.
Lopez Obrador called the allegations “shameful,” while his government is seeking to recover $700 million allegedly embezzled by Garcia Luna.
A lawsuit was filed on September 21, 2021 in Florida against 39 companies belonging to Garcia Luna or his relatives.
The objective is “to return to Mexico all the property that exists in the name of Genaro Garcia Luna in Florida,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
Lopez Obrador, who took office in 2018, suggested three hypotheses on the situation surrounding Garcia Luna:
First, if he’s innocent, he must be released “even if it’s a fiasco” for the United States.
The second possibility is that Garcia Luna acted alone, deceiving Mexican authorities including former president Felipe Calderon (2006-12).
Lopez Obrador’s third conjecture is that Garcia Luna may have acted with a “green light” from Calderon as well as former president Vicente Fox (2000-06).
A left-wing populist, Lopez Obrador regularly accuses his “conservative” predecessors of corruption, and even organized a referendum in 2021 on whether former presidents should be prosecuted for graft.
The poll’s result in favor was non-binding due to low turnout.
US cooperation
Garcia Luna, who was arrested in December 2019 in Texas, was Washington’s interlocutor when he was Calderon’s security chief.
Meeting then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton in 2009 as the neighboring countries launched a joint initiative to fight cross-border organized crime, the pair were all smiles as they shook hands in front of the cameras.
As the boss of the police, the former minister was a pivotal player in the war against drug cartels launched by Calderon in 2006.
At the time, the super-cop was already allegedly profiting from his influence with “El Chapo,” US authorities charged in 2020.
“From 2001 to 2012, while occupying high-ranking law enforcement positions in the Mexican government, Garcia Luna received millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for providing protection for its drug trafficking activities,” the Justice Department said.
Before becoming a government minister, Garcia Luna, an engineer by training, headed Mexico’s since-renamed Federal Investigation Agency, a branch of the police.
Hailing from a modest district of Mexico City, Garcia Luna entered the security services at the age of 21.
It was there that Garcia Luna, known for always being elegantly dressed, met his wife, an intelligence analyst.
According to journalist Francisco Cruz, who wrote a book about the ex-security chief, Garcia Luna sought to model himself on the late American J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s first director who served for nearly a half-century.
The nature of his work meant that Garcia Luna crossed paths with US security agencies, whose presence in Mexico is an open secret.
“We had a close relationship with him on the themes of crime and drug trafficking,” said Mike Vigil, a retired chief of international operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The trial is expected to last several weeks and if convicted, Garcia Luna could face up to life in prison.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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