(NewsNation) — A former Mexican security chief who was convicted of drug trafficking and his wife were ordered to pay more than $2.4 billion to their home country in a judgment handed down by a Florida court, the Mexican government announced.
Mexican officials sued Genaro Garcia Luna for alleged corruption and money laundering in 2021 involving dozens of public contracts. Garcia Luna is currently in prison in the United States, CBS News reported.
The judgment against Garcia Luna and his wife is three times the original amount that the Mexican government was seeking. In the court order, Garcia Luna was ordered to pay $749 million, while his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, was ordered to pay the Mexican government $1.74 billion.
The Florida court said that the judgment that was ordered is consistent with seven guilty verdicts that were previously issued and enforced against the couple and the five companies as a result of their failure to appear at trial, CBS News reported.
Garcia Luna, 56, earned the nickname “Supercop” for his role with the Mexican government but instead often aided and abetted drug trafficking operations. He was sentenced to spend 38 years in prison in the United States for taking bribes from drug traffickers, according to reports.
Garcia Luna previously served as Mexico’s secretary of public security and was convicted in 2023 of accepting millions in bribes to protect the Sinaloa cartel. NBC 6 in Florida reported that he is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the United States.
He served in his capacity as security chief from 2006 to 12 and moved to Florida after leaving office. He worked as a consultant in Florida before he was arrested in 2019. He and his co-conspirators were said to have set up companies that accepted 30 dubious government contracts while he was serving as Mexico’s top security chief, The Associated Press reported.
Federal prosecutors said Garcia Luna used his authority in his government role to assist the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. In exchange for the bribes, Garcia Luna’s federal police chief provided bodyguards and escorts to the cartel, allowing Sinaloa members to wear police uniforms and badges and helped them upload shipments of cocaine from planes at Mexico City’s airport, officials said.
Officials allege that Garcia Luna used the money to finance a lavish lifestyle for himself and his co-conspirators that included real estate, bank accounts and vintage cars.