King Zambada admits inconsistencies in his testimony 4:04
(CNN Spanish) --
The trial against Genero García Luna, Mexico's Secretary of Public Security between 2006 and 2012, is in its final stretch.
Both the prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy and García Luna's defense made their final arguments: the former insisted that the former Mexican secretary helped the Sinaloa Cartel grow and expand its territory;
Meanwhile, César de Castro, one of the defense lawyers, attacked the credibility of the witnesses that the Prosecutor's Office presented at the trial.
The case goes to the jury and deliberations begin.
What is the sentence that García Luna could receive?
García Luna faces in this trial several counts of participation in an ongoing criminal enterprise and other charges of conspiracy to obtain, import and distribute thousands of kilograms of cocaine in the United States, in addition to allegedly making false statements to US immigration officials.
The former official has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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The trial against Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico, in the US: who is he, what are they accusing him of and who are the witnesses
On December 10, 2019, one day after the arrest of the former Mexican official in Texas, the United States Department of Justice indicated that, if convicted of drug conspiracy, García Luna would face "a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years of prison and a maximum of life imprisonment".
On the other hand, on July 30, 2020, the Department of Justice reported that, if convicted for participation in a continuing criminal enterprise, García Luna would face "a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment." ".
Samuel González, a lawyer and expert in Public Safety and Organized Crime, explained to CNN that the sentence will depend on how he is declared for each of the charges and that the result can be a combination.
"For example, they can give him 10 years for lying, 20 for each of the four remaining charges. O3 as El Chapo, a life sentence plus 30 years," he says.
The lawyer Vance Owen, for his part, does not consider that they can give García Luna a life sentence.
"In these cases, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are used as a sentencing bible and the hands of the judge are tied to those ranges," he explained.
With information from Yilber Vega and María Santana, from CNN en Español.
Genaro Garcia Luna