Sergio Villarreal Barragán, aka El Grande, is the first witness in the trial of Genaro García Luna. The former Sinaloa Cartel and Juárez Cartel operative pointed out Monday that the former officer’s ties to organized crime date back more than 20 years, when García Luna was director of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI ) was (2000-2006). The first prosecutor directly accused him of being part of the group led by Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán and of receiving monthly bribes for years. “With the help of the government, the cartel grew in terms of territory, the amount of drugs we moved, and it eliminated its enemies,” Villarreal Barragán told the Brooklyn court.
“He had a very important stake,” El Grande said of the role García Luna played in the structure of the Sinaloa cartel. Villarreal Barragán, a former police officer who got his nickname because he is over two meters tall, said he had had several meetings with García Luna when he was in charge of the AFI and that he was present on several occasions when he bribes were handed out. The capo said that Arturo Beltrán, a former partner in the Sinaloa cartel and later leader of the Beltrán-Leyva cartel, was the one who gave the former officer the money. “Payments grew as the cartel grew, and without that support it would have been virtually impossible,” he commented.
Villarreal Baragán claimed that Beltrán gave García Luna in bribes of between $1 million and $1.5 million every month between 2001 and 2006, either through people working for the then-AFI director or delivered directly to him. El Grande said the Beltrán-Leyva faction and the defendant have met on average once a month since 2004 at a safe house near Perisur, a well-known shopping center in southern Mexico City. Members of the Sinaloa cartel picked up García Luna in the mall parking lot and took him to the criminal group’s “office,” where the former officer spoke with his suspected accomplices for about three hours, according to witnesses. Luis Cárdenas Palomino, García Luna’s right-hand man and Director General of Investigations at the AFI, also attended the meetings. Cárdenas Palomino is identified by the authorities as the main accomplice.
Sergio Enrique Villarreal Barragán, aka “El Grande”, after his arrest in September 2010. Saúl López (Cuartoscuro)
Always according to this version, the drug dealer said that Arturo Beltrán gave García Luna a limited edition Harley Davidson motorcycle to win his favor and meet relatively frequently. Once contact was made, the bribes were delivered in packages of black bags of $100 bills known as sausages and compressed to the sum of $10,000. After that, packages of five sausages were put together to raise around a million dollars, which were delivered to the Specialized Police High Command. “They would usually put a suitcase on the table, unzip it and show the contents,” El Grande said. The bosses of the Sinaloa cartel referred to the defendant as El Compa or El Tartamudo, joking for his language problems. “They spoke familiarly, like friends,” Villarreal Barragán said of the talks between Arturo Beltrán and García Luna.
El Grande appeared before the jury and, in front of a panel, explained the expansion of the cartel thanks to the alleged support of García Luna. According to him, in 2001 the criminal organization controlled only Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango and part of the corridor between the cities of Torreón and Monterrey. After a few years, it maintained its presence in these states, extending practically all over the country from Baja California to the Yucatan Peninsula. “He gave us information about operations and investigations against the organization and helped us get rid of commanders and police chiefs in every field,” he added.
After spending more than a decade in the security forces and working with the Juárez Cartel, El Grande joined the Sinaloa Cartel in 2001, a few months after García Luna was appointed director of AFI, an agency set up during the Fox Government established to investigate federal crimes. At that time, the criminal organization was a merger of alliances of different gang bosses. At the beginning of his performance, Villarreal Barragán identified several famous drug lords in front of the jury, such as Ismael El Mayo Zambada, his brother Jesús El Rey Zambada, Ignacio Coronel and the Beltrán Leyva brothers. “Arturo knew my knowledge of the police and asked me to plan the operations to attack his enemies,” he commented.
El Grande said the criminal group was protected by the Mexican government with police officers working as bodyguards and several members of the cartel had badges identifying them as AFI agents and allowing them to carry weapons. For example, Villarreal Barragán had identified himself with the position of “second commander” under a false identity: Gerardo Máynez Real. In addition, the Sinaloa cartel had “cloned” squad cars with the García Luna agency sign and fake uniforms to masquerade as police officers.
Illustration by The Great during his testimony on January 23rd. JANE ROSENBERG (Portal)
The testimony of the drug trafficker, who is now a cooperating witness, was detailed regarding the alleged networks of complicity between the AFI and the Sinaloa cartel. For example, he said that the investigative authorities had reached an agreement with the criminal group to split up the confiscated drugs: the “García Luna people” kept half the value of the deliveries, the drug dealers the other half. He said cartel gunmen and agents were conducting joint operations against the Gulf Cartel, their enemies. That criminals were putting people in and out of the government agency structure and doing the same with police checkpoints to facilitate the flow of drugs. “These payments should be 100 percent tied to us,” El Grande said in a thick Nordic accent.
El Grande’s remarks not only targeted García Luna and Cárdenas Palomino, but also an entire network of AFI officials. Among those named is Domingo González, director of the agency’s command center and a key figure in the alleged bribery network. Armando Espinosa de Benito, another senior official, has been identified as a DEA collaborator, “El Chapo’s friend and friend of El Mayo,” according to Villarreal Barragán. Other close associates of the defendants were directly accused of working for the cartel, such as Iván Reyes Arzate La Reina, who was sentenced to 10 years for drug trafficking in the United States; Ramón Pequeño, a fugitive from justice, and nearly a dozen commanders and middle and senior management. Édgar Valdez Villarreal La Barbie also emerged in his testimony as one of the key drug traffickers who had a relationship with the AFI. Some meetings even took place at the agency’s offices in the capital, the witness commented.
The first allegations
“García Luna was part of the Sinaloa cartel, they put him on their payroll,” said Assistant Attorney Philip Pilmar, who was responsible for prosecutors’ initial comment Monday. “Nevertheless, he presented himself as a hero,” he said on his first opportunity to address the jury. César de Castro, García Luna’s lawyer, asserted that the US authorities had no evidence to support the charges against his client. “You will see how your government is failing one of its strategic partners and how the prosecutor’s case is based on the testimonies of murderers, kidnappers and drug traffickers,” De Castro said.
García Luna entered the room just before nine thirty in the morning. He sent kisses and thanked his daughter Luna and his wife Linda Cristina Pereyra for being there. “I love you very much,” the former official said on his lips as he greeted his family. Around 50 minutes later, both sides gave up their starting positions. Then they gave way to the first testimony of the trial, which lasted about four hours, interrupted by the break. “Your Honor, the district attorney’s office is calling Sergio Villarreal Barragán,” said Assistant District Attorney Erin Reid, who is in charge of the interrogation.
El Grande was arrested in Mexico in 2010 and extradited to the United States in May 2012, when García Luna was secretary of security in Felipe Calderón’s government. His testimony is the first in a list that includes dozens of people willing to testify against García Luna, including former employees, drug traffickers and corrupt politicians. If found guilty, the senior former Mexican official who set foot in front of a US court faces 10 years to life in prison. Villarreal Barragán’s interrogation is expected to continue on Tuesday, with the remaining questions from prosecutors and defense attorneys.
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