Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico, has filed an appeal against his sentence of 38 years in prison for drug trafficking charges. The appeal motion was registered on October 18 and disclosed on October 30, now passing his case to the Second District Court of Appeals for a thorough review.
García Luna's defense argues that the trial was not fair and claims that the prosecution did not present conclusive evidence of the crimes, including the accusation of receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel to facilitate their illegal activities in Mexico.
According to García Luna's lawyers, the appeal will focus on the alleged omission of crucial evidence that could have influenced the final verdict. If the appeal is successful, García Luna could face three possible scenarios.
In the first, his conviction could be reduced to the legal minimum of 20 years, meaning that, accounting for time served and potential good conduct benefits, he could be released in about 10 to 12 years. In a second scenario, the verdict would be upheld but he would be granted a reduction of 3 to 5 years for good behavior. In a third scenario, García Luna could choose to cooperate with the U.S. government to reduce his sentence.
The review of this appeal could take several months, thus maintaining public attention on one of the most significant cases related to corruption and drug trafficking in Mexico.
