Jury members have not yet reached a decision on Genaro García Luna’s guilt or innocence. After two days of deliberations, the panel concluded Friday without a unanimous verdict on the five crimes committed against the former Mexican secretary of state for public safety: three charges of drug trafficking, one of organized crime and another of making false statements. The 12 citizens will meet again next Tuesday after the US President’s Day holiday. There is no set deadline for an agreement.
The Brooklyn court is nervous. The prosecution, the defense, the accused’s relatives and journalists have met in court, waiting to hear from the jury, whose deliberations are private. Just hours earlier, the court was filled with explosive testimonies, arguments between the parties and the impatient gaze of the defendant waiting to learn his future after the trial. Now the scene is completely different. The judge is out of the room, the parties have left the controversy behind and are engaged in harmless conversations, the reporters amuse themselves with jokes, forecasts and books. There can be judgment at any time. The wait is particularly distressing for Cristina Pereyra, his wife, who attended all of the court hearings. Luna García, their daughter, shared with them the nervousness and fear in the courtrooms.
Cut off from the outside world, members have requested various documents and transcripts of testimonies in order to have more elements to help them make a judgement. Each request is communicated to the court, where a permanent vigil has been posted due to the uncertainty of not knowing when a decision will be made. In the final moments of the New York court hearing, everything is suspended. After seven hours of deliberations, the jury’s final request was to go home.
The only time that there has been any activity during the trial on a Friday, a day when Judge Brian Cogan does not normally hold hearings. The jury requested an exception in the hope that they could close the matter and enjoy the bridge. But the deal didn’t materialize. Cogan thanked citizens for their engagement, wished them a nice weekend and asked them not to speak to anyone about any aspect of the process. The countdown continues as we learn the fate of the highest-ranking former Mexican official on trial in the United States.
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