Trial against García Luna: under pressure from the defense, a former Mexican federal police officer changes his version of the circumstances in which he saw the former official

Genaro García Luna's lawyer: There is no solid case 1:35

(CNN Spanish) --

In the third week of the trial against Genaro García Luna, Mexico's former Secretary of Public Security, a former agent of the now dissolved Federal Police changed details of his previous account of what he had allegedly seen as a meeting between the former official and two known drug dealers.

In the defense's cross-examination, Francisco Cañedo Zavaleta, a witness for the Prosecutor's Office, acknowledged having seen that Édgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie", was carrying a weapon while García Luna's bodyguards were on the ground, apparently handcuffed. and did not report the incident or seek help.

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In his testimony on Thursday, Cañedo had said that on October 19, 2008, while off duty and driving to Cuernavaca from Mexico City, he saw two trucks parked in the opposite lane of the highway and three people outside the cars.

He said that he slowed down to see if something had happened to these people, but he was surprised to see that it was García Luna and Arturo Beltrán Leyva and La Barbie, who was carrying a long gun.

According to what Cañedo recounted in his first statement, at that moment he got scared and accelerated, only to later realize through his rearview mirror that the trucks had turned around and were coming after him.

And that there he stopped and saw that the two trucks continued on, with Beltrán Leyva and La Barbie in one of them and García Luna in the other.

On cross-examination, lawyer César de Castro focused on the reasons why the witness did not report what could have been a kidnapping.

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During the hearing, the defense also suggested that Cañedo used that information for political purposes and for a campaign against the police reforms that would unify the entire body, under the Secretary of Security.

The Federal Police of Mexico no longer exists as such, but is now integrated into the National Guard.

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The defense attorney also tried to portray the witness as a "resentful" ex-policeman who saw an opportunity to take revenge on García Luna.

Cañedo Zavaleta was a police officer from 1993 to 2000 and during that time, he was dedicated to investigating drug cartels.

According to the witness himself, in 2000 he was fired, to rejoin the Police in 2006, although doing only administrative work, according to De Castro.

In the trial that takes place in the Court of the Eastern District of New York, García Luna faces several counts of participation in an ongoing criminal enterprise and others of conspiracy to obtain, import and distribute thousands of kilograms of cocaine in the United States, in addition to allegedly have made false statements to US immigration officials.

The former official has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Defense cross-examination will continue after the break.

Genaro García LunaDrug trafficking