Mexico's ex-drug czar convicted of cartel bribery

STORY: A man once in charge of Mexico’s war on drugs was convicted by a U.S. jury of trafficking drugs himself on Tuesday.

Genario Garcia Luna’s U.S. charges include taking millions of dollars in bribes from the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

He will serve a minimum of 20-years in prison and could face a life-time sentence.

Garcia Luna is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking…

…and had worked closely with U.S. counter-narcotics and intelligence agencies.

He led Mexico’s Federal Investigation Agency for four years and was public security minister for six years until 2012.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Garcia Luna accepted bribes from the cartel once run by Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in exchange for protection for arrest…

…safe passage for cocaine shipments…

…and tipoffs about future police operations.

He arrested in Texas in 2019 after moving to the United States…

…and had pled not guilty.

On Tuesday, a jury found him guilty on all five counts he faced.

Cesar de Castro, a defense lawyer, told reporters Garcia Luna will "continue to do everything he can to clear his good name."

While Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said after the verdict QUOTE “Garcia Luna, who once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico, will now live the rest of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his country.”

He is set to be sentenced in June.