In a joint action between several agencies, The United States government carries out Operation “Decadence”focused on investigating decades of Mexican governments and their links to drug trafficking.
This investigation is different from those revealed by ProPublica and The New York Times, known as “Operation Cleanup” and “Operation Polanco.”
It was the Homeland Security Investigations area of the Department of Homeland Security (HSI), based in New York, that revealed the existence of the investigation, responding to prosecutors in the process to former Secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna.
“Operation ‘Decadence’ [se realiza] through the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), which investigates the political corruption within the Government of Mexico (GoM), as an essential function of large-scale drug trafficking and the money laundering activity of the Mexican drug cartels,” indicates a court document to which this newspaper had access.
This explanation is part of an introductory paragraph to the evidence presented against García Luna, on which the former attorney general of Nayarit, Édgar Veytia, one of the witnesses against the former official of the governments of Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón, is cited.
“For decades, the Mexican Government officials have worked together with drug cartels to facilitate narcotics trafficking, launder illicit profits and wage wars on drugs in exchange for payments and political support,” the report indicates.
The case against García Luna originally ran from 2000 to 2018, but Judge Brian Cogan limited the process from 2000 to 2012.
It should be noted that the current government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is not part of those years of investigation against García Luna, but rather former presidents Fox, Calderon and Enrique Peña Nieto.
It is not clear if the investigation by the HSI agents – which is carried out in coordination with the DEA office in New York – also includes the current Mexican government, but in previous reports confirmed by this newspaper, both the Department of Justice and the White House affirm that There is no investigation against President López Obrador.
The HSI report indicates that the actions of Mexican governments promoted “systemic violence and corruption” in Mexico.
The document was dated February 5, 2024, in which the questions of Veytia, who was interviewed on January 8, 2024, are presented.
When asked specifically about the investigation, the DEA indicated that it “does not confirm” or “comments” on investigations.
What’s next with García Luna?
García Luna’s defense attorney, César de Castro, asked Judge Cogan to allow prosecutors to respond to the new evidence against his client.
Judge Cogan accepted and set March 20 as the deadline for this, after which the judge will make a decision, either a new hearing – although prosecutors have opposed it – or deciding on De Castro’s motion-appeal.
The defense of García Luna – accused of drug trafficking and links to the Sinaloa Cartel – argues that there were flaws in the judicial process against his client, which is why he has asked to annul the jury’s decision and repeat the trial.
The sentencing date remains set for June 24.