Ex-Mexico drug czar seeks new US trial after cartel bribery conviction

Mexico's former Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna looks on as the jury bring back their verdict during his trial in New York City, U.S., February 21, 2023 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former top Mexican law enforcement official convicted earlier this year on US charges that he took millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers is seeking a new trial, arguing he has come across evidence key witnesses lied on the stand.

Lawyers for Genaro Garcia Luna, who as public security minister from 2006-2012 led the country's fight against drug cartels, said in a court filing on Friday that they had also found evidence that prosecutors' cooperating witnesses had improperly communicated with each other before trial.

"Mr. Garcia Luna was convicted of charges of which he is innocent," his lawyers wrote in a memorandum filed in federal court in Brooklyn, where the trial was held in January and February. "Letting the verdict stand would be a manifest injustice."

The U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, which brought the charges, declined to comment. Prosecutors are due to reply on Jan. 19 before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan decides whether or not to order a new trial.

Garcia Luna, 55, is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking.

He was convicted on Feb. 21 on five criminal counts after prosecutors said he accepted bribes from the infamous Sinaloa cartel once run by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in exchange for protection from arrest, safe passage for cocaine shipments and tipoffs about forthcoming law enforcement operations.

Garcia Luna worked closely with U.S. counter-narcotics and intelligence agencies as part of former President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on cartels.

Defense lawyers also said prosecutors did not turn over evidence showing the Drug Enforcement Administration, Central Intelligence Agency, and other U.S. government agencies conducted background checks on Garcia Luna and security services he worked with while in office.

Garcia Luna is currently scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2024.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)