MEXICO CITY _ A former top Mexican security official has been arrested in the United States for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel long headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
An indictment unsealed Tuesday in a Brooklyn federal court charges Genaro Garcia Luna, who served as secretary of public security in Mexico from 2006 to 2012, with three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and one count of making false statements. It accuses Garcia of accepting bribes from the cartel in exchange for providing protection for its drug trafficking activities.
Garcia, who was arrested Monday in Dallas, is believed to be the highest-ranking Mexican official ever charged with drug trafficking in the United States. He served under President Felipe Calderon, the architect of Mexico's war on drug cartels.
