David Brooks and Jim Cason
Correspondents
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, December 20, 2025, p. 5
New York and Washington. Genaro García Luna filed an appeal against his sentence, arguing in favor of reversing or annulling his convictions and sentence in the case.
“The sentence imposed was procedurally unreasonable, as it relied on erroneous information and was surprisingly greater than necessary to satisfy the goals of the sentence,” concludes the appeal dated December 18 and filed with a federal appeals court.
The 78-page appeal (with much more in annexes) presents five arguments in favor. The first, that the trial was tainted by “false testimony” from at least two critical witnesses and that prosecutors did not present evidence relevant to the case.
It claims the judge denied a hearing to present new evidence and other evidence discovered after the trial and a district court should have ordered a new one.
Second, he claims that the district court handling his trial “abused its discretion” by not allowing defense attorneys to investigate and question cooperating witnesses.
Third, that the court in the case inappropriately allowed the introduction of irrelevant evidence that created prejudice against the defendant among the jury.
Fourth, that the defendant and his attorneys were inappropriately denied access to classified evidence in the hands of prosecutors.
“Those materials would have been vital to countering the government’s case and supported the defense case that García Luna was a loyal partner with the United States in its fight against drug trafficking, narcoterrorism and countless initiatives shared by Mexico and the United States,” said the defense lawyers.
Finally, the defense argues that the sentence of 38 years in prison and a $2 million fine imposed was “unreasonable.”
The defense team, led by public defender César de Castro, argues that García Luna was prosecuted based on uncorroborated testimonies from nine cartel bosses arrested and extradited while the former Secretary of Public Security coordinated the anti-drug war supported by the United States.
He reiterates that García Luna’s 20-year professional history had been extensively examined by US intelligence and public security.
García Luna was arrested in Texas on December 10, 2019 and presented to the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York on January 3, 2020. His trial began on January 17, 2023 and concluded on February 21 of that year, with the jury finding him guilty of all charges that revolve around accepting multimillion-dollar bribes from the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for protection. He was sentenced on October 16, 2024.
He is the highest-ranking Mexican official ever prosecuted by the United States.
