The former secretary of public security of Mexico pleads not guilty for cocaine trafficking and false declaration

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Genaro García Luna pleads not guilty in New York court 1:04

(CNN) - The former Mexican public security secretary pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges related to a drug trafficking conspiracy in which he allegedly accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the drug cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Genaro García Luna, 51, who served as public security secretary from 2006 to 2012, was arrested in December by federal agents in Dallas, Texas.

An indictment opened in a federal court in Brooklyn accuses the former Mexican official of three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and a charge for making false statements.

He was ordered to stop him because he did not have a bail package to offer, according to a spokesman for the New York Eastern District Attorney's Office.

In court, defense attorney César de Castro said he was working on the preparation of a bail application, but prosecutors said they would oppose freeing García Luna under any bail condition, according to the spokesman.

• MIRA: Genaro García Luna: from Secretary of Security accused of receiving bribes from “Chapo”

After the court, de Castro told CNN he had no comments at this time.

"García Luna is accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel of 'El Chapo' Guzmán while controlling the Mexican Federal Police Force and was responsible for ensuring public safety in Mexico," said the federal prosecutor for the District East of New York Richard P Donoghue in a previous statement.

From 2001 to 2012, while occupying public order positions in the Mexican government, García Luna received millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the indictment.

His responsibilities included periods as head of the Federal Investigation Agency of Mexico and as secretary of public security, who directs the federal police, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said the bribes guaranteed the criminal organization “a safe step for their drug shipments, confidential information from law enforcement on investigations of the cartel and information on rival drug cartels, which facilitated the importation of tons of cocaine and other drugs in the United States. "

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At the 'El Chapo' Guzmán trial in Brooklyn earlier this year, a former cartel leader testified about billionaire bribes that he and others paid to Garcia Luna in the mid-2000s, according to court documents.

The former leader of the cartel, King Zambada, brother of his current boss, testified at the Guzman trial that at least twice he personally delivered briefcases to García Luna with between US $ 3 and US $ 5 million to help the Sinaloa Cartel, According to the documents.

Guzmán was sentenced in July to life imprisonment plus 30 years.

García Luna moved to the US in 2012 and settled in Florida with a personal fortune of millions of dollars, according to prosecutors. He allegedly filed a naturalization request in 2018 and lied about his past criminal acts.

If convicted of the drug conspiracy charge, García Luna faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

CNN's Rob Frehse contributed to this story.

Genaro García Luna