New York-
The wife of Genaro García Luna, Linda Cristina Pereyra, appeared in federal court in New York this Tuesday as
the only witness to testify in favor of the former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico
, accused of receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel.
Pereyra recounted how the couple built their capital during the years that García Luna was a public official and said that the assets they amassed in Mexico —ranging from a large house in the country's capital, another country residence in Morelos and a couple of restaurants—they got them from their work and savings.
She said that she decided to testify to support her husband.
"Of course, I want to tell the truth," he replied on the stand.
Judge Brian M. Cogan decided that during the trial the assets and money that García Luna may have had at his disposal after leaving office would not be discussed, so
the Prosecutor's Office could not present evidence or ask about the mansion in the that the former official and his family ended up living in Florida,
after moving to the United States in 2012.
Guided by questions from defender Florian Miedel, Linda Cristina Pereyra was the voice of the former secretary, who refused to testify before the jury, to refute the prosecution's accusation that her husband enriched himself with monthly payments from the drug dealer, in exchange for help and protection of criminal groups.
Genaro García Luna places his hand on his heart to greet his wife in court in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Jane Rosenberg
The woman went through the family's financial history, showing the García Lunas as a
working-class, middle-class family that used
bank loans, bonuses from the then official's job, personal savings and proceeds from the sale of properties to build their assets in the last 30 years.
In Mexico, the couple has had a low profile and there are few photographs where they are seen together at political events.
In 2012, when the government of Felipe Calderón ended and García Luna stopped holding public office, the couple settled in Miami with their two children.
An unknown story about family history
Pereyra gave a more complete and unknown account of family history on Tuesday.
She said that she, 52, and García Luna, 54, began as a couple in 1989, when they both worked at the Center for Investigation and National Security (CICEN).
In 1994, they bought an apartment in the Xochimilco neighborhood, in Mexico City.
From there, she narrated how she opened an office supply store when she stopped working for CICEN.
After they got married, in 1995, and with García Luna already working as deputy director of the investigative agency, they sold the apartment and bought nearby land to build a house, whose works lasted more than three years.
They bought it, she said, with savings, with the money from the apartment and with a Christmas bonus
that García Luna received.
In 2000, Pereyra said, the couple bought a property with a "small rest house" in Jiutepec, Morelos, for about 350,000 Mexican pesos, which they sold four years later for 1 million pesos, after several renovations.
'El Rey' Zambada testifies again and says he has no evidence of bribing García Luna
Feb 14, 202300:40
Shortly before, in 2002, when García Luna was director of the extinct Federal Investigation Agency (AFI), they had bought two other nearby lots in Jiutepec, where they initially built a swimming pool and a ranch.
That property was rented for events and children's parties, according to Pereyra's story.
There, later, they built a large weekend residence whose photographs were provided by the Prosecutor's Office as evidence of the alleged wealth of the García Luna family.
"We wanted the place to have a little rest. It was difficult to go out to public places because of the security (escort) we had," said the wife of the former official, who has accompanied him throughout the trial from the public benches.
Right there, in Jiutepec, Pereyra bought a small store where he set up a store selling products for children's parties, which he later sold in 2007. Meanwhile, the couple decided to buy a house in Cuernavaca, in order to "fix it up and sell it for a profit." , said.
The woman assured that,
thanks to García Luna's position, they acquired the property financed with a loan
from FOVISSSTE, a Mexican state agency that allows public workers to obtain loans with better conditions.
In 2006, the same year that García Luna began his duties as Secretary of Public Security in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón, the family bought a property on Paseo
De Los Cedros
street , Xochimilco, where Pereyra would eventually open Cafeteria Los Cedros, a store that the Prosecutor's Office brought to the trial to show that García Luna had access to a business where he received cash and that he could have used to launder the money from the alleged drug trafficking payments.
Pereyra assured that the property of the cafeteria was bought for 3.5 million Mexican pesos with the help of a loan granted by the Scotiabank bank.
In addition, he said, García Luna had obtained a settlement of 2.7 million Mexican pesos after leaving his job at the AFI to assume the Secretary of Public Security.
García Luna's wife also described a succession of real estate purchases and sales, savings, year-end bonuses at her husband's job,
as well as her own earnings
that allowed them to end up living in a luxurious house on Monte de Funiar in the capital. Mexican in 2009.
The Prosecutor's Office could not ask about family assets in the US.
The Prosecutor's Office has tried to point out that García Luna's wealth is due to bribes from the drug trafficker while he held public office between 2001 and 2012, first as director of the Federal Investigation Agency and later as head of the Ministry of Public Security, under Calderón.
The Prosecutor's Office has presented photographs and material collected from García Luna's personal computer and cell phone that show the former official's properties and assets, including the house in Mexico City with a giant fish tank, which Pereyra says was built to hide the bases of an adjoining construction that protruded from the wall of his residence.
For former President Felipe Calderón, the accusations that he agreed with 'El Chapo' are "absurd"
Feb 7, 202300:36
But the truth is that the Prosecutor's Office could not bring to the table withering evidence that would demonstrate the wealth attributed to him or the payments of millions of dollars over the years that former drug traffickers such as Jesús El Rey Zamabada and Sergio Villareal El Grande attributed to him
during
the
trial
.
Unable to ask about the assets the family enjoyed in the United States, prosecutors had to limit themselves to questioning Pereyra about their homes in Mexico and some vehicles, including a couple of Harley Davidson motorcycles and two Ford Mustangs
that
Garcia Luna bought.
But Pereyra explained each of these points, and described García Luna's taste for vintage cars and how he bought the first Mustang in 1998 to restore it with his brother.
“When I had the opportunity to buy a car and repair it, I did it.
It was a way to spend time with his brother,” she said.
She also described how she was the one who bought the two Harley Davidson motorcycles, one in 2007 and the other in 2009. She bought the first
from her husband
in a store in Ajusco, an area south of Mexico City.
She said that she bought it with their savings.
“I was working and we were able to do it
,” he explained.
As support, García Luna's defense showed the purchase invoice dated July 16, 2007, in the name of Pereyra.
Where did
Harley Davidsons
come from ?
The mention of the motorcycle is not accidental.
The first witness for the Prosecutor's Office, the ex-narco Sergio
El Grande
Villarreal Barragán, told the jury that García Luna not only received bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel but also described a supposed close relationship between the drug leaders and the police chief.
And he spoke of a special gift: "a collector's Harley Davidson motorcycle", which Arturo Beltrán Leyva himself would have given García Luna.
Trial against Genaro García Luna: witness declares that the drug trafficker put fake drugs in a seizure
Jan 24, 202300:33
According to
El Grande,
Beltrán Leyva sent him the motorcycle through his brother-in-law, Carlos.
"He sent it as a gift to García Luna."
He assured that the then head of the AFI spoke about the gift directly with the drug lord "thanking him for the detail... that it was very pretty."
Among the evidence presented by the Prosecutor's Office as proof of García Luna's wealth were photos of a sculpture in the living room of his house, as well as a painting of the former official's face.
But his wife explained to the jury that the sculpture was actually a papier-mâché reproduction that they bought at a museum souvenir shop.
And about the painting, she said that it is a portrait that she painted and was given to García Luna by a survivor of a kidnapping in Mexico.
García Luna's wife also explained that
Genaro García Luna's statement of assets was always public
, with details of the properties they had.
She assured that they decided to make them private in 2009 when her husband was serving as Secretary of Public Security, because the Mexican press insisted on publishing details and photos of the properties.
But even if they're private, "we always declare them," she said.
"We had always decided to make the heritage public until the press began to show us in public and we decided to make it private," he explained.
What's next in court now?
He also testified that one of the reasons for moving to different houses was "harassment" from the press, which published details of the properties and photos of his children.
"We didn't feel safe."
Former Mexican official said in the García Luna trial that a newspaper received million-dollar bribes
Feb 7, 202301:46
The accusation against García Luna includes three charges for cocaine trafficking, one for organized crime and another for false statements.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
On the other hand, the Mexican government has accused García Luna of having a corruption network with family businesses with an illicit fortune of 745 million dollars, a separate case from the one taking place in New York.
His wife is included in this cause as one of the biggest beneficiaries.
The start of the conclusion stage of the trial by the Prosecutor's Office and the defense of García Luna is scheduled for this Wednesday.
Judge Cogan explained to the jury that both parties could close no later than Thursday and anticipated that they could begin their deliberations on Friday of this week.
Journalist Pamela Subizar contributed to this story.