Regardless of the concrete results that the trial against Genaro García Luna may have, it is, in journalistic and analytical terms, an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of drug trafficking in Mexico.
The testimonies of subjects such as Sergio Villarreal “El Grande” and Tirso Martínez “El futbolista”, give an account of the private history of the bandits, the structures of their organizations and the levels of protection that they required from various authorities to remain in the illicit market business.
It is necessary to maintain a certain reserve about what they say, because their testimonies are interested and subject to agreements with the prosecution, which often means reductions in their sentences or other types of perks.
But there is a part of the story, which is a kind of window to peek into the world of drug trafficking.
For example, “El Grande” gave data on the operation of the Sinaloa cartel from the observatory that could be had from the Beltrán Leyva cells, which were one of the operational arms of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Vicente ” The May” Zambada.
Villarreal, in the framework of his testimonies against García Luna, referred to a particularly violent period, in 2008, when the fracture of the Sinaloa cartel began, which also resulted in attacks against elements of the Federal Police.
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An example of this is the murder of Edgar Millán, then general coordinator of regional security of the PF, who was killed in his home, where the subordinates of “El Grande” managed to obtain the keys and the entry of a hitman who was waiting.
Those days were of an underground war, which was even reflected in incidents at the Mexico City Airport and in the death of customs agents.
It was in this context that Reynaldo Zambada “El Rey” was captured. Those who found him, according to the story of “El Grande”, were members of the Beltrán Leyva disguised as agents of the PGR’s Office of the Specialized Prosecutor for Organized Crime Investigation. “El Rey” saved his life, but not jail, and is currently a witness for the DEA.
Tirso Martínez is a special case. He did not know García Luna nor is he aware of anything regarding his performance. But prosecutors decided to include his testimony to chronicle his glamorous life buying soccer teams, cars, property and organizing cocaine smuggling in railroad cars.
Martínez revealed agreements between the Juárez cartel, led by Vicente Carrillo, with “El Chapo Guzmán” and “el Mayo” Zambada.
The strategy of the New York Prosecutor’s Office is for the jury to understand the scope of the drug market and that this is enough to determine the guilt of the former Mexican Secretary of Public Security. The former will surely happen, of the latter there are doubts that it will be so, as long as the sayings are not accompanied by evidence.
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