The “kidnapping” of Genaro García Luna by Arturo Beltrán Leyva that culminated in a party with Joan Sebastian

In the midst of uncertainty and conflicting opinions, the trial of Genaro García Lunaaccused of favoring the Pacific Cartel during his tenure as former Secretary of Public Security throughout the six-year term of former President Felipe Calderón, continues his course on the eighth floor of the Court for the Eastern District of New York.

In this way, on the morning of this Tuesday, January 24, he returned to the stand as a witness Sergio Villarreal Barragan, aka The big onewho served as a lieutenant of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and accused Genaro García Luna of having received million-dollar bribes from the criminal organization.

Although in his first appearance The big one reaffirmed these accusations about García Luna, this Tuesday on the podium Villarreal Barragán reported that the former head of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) was deprived of his liberty on the orders of Arturo Beltrán Leyvaan episode that had previously been reconstructed by the journalist Ricardo Ravelo Galo.

it was in book Graduatewritten by J. Jesús Lemus where he takes up the journalistic work of Ricardo Ravelo Galo where he pointed out that Armed men of Arturo Beltrán Leyva kidnapped Genaro García Luna for a few hoursjust when he was traveling on the Tepoztlán highway in the state of Morelos and when he was already serving as Secretary of Public Security in the six-year term of Felipe Calderón.

According to the journalist’s revelations, the convoy in which García Luna was traveling was intercepted by a group of hit men who outnumbered the escorts of the AFI coordinatorFaced with the threat of confrontation, the former official opted for dialogue.

Previously, Sergio Enrique Villareal Barragan, The big onehad confirmed that said meeting happened, more ruled out that it was a kidnappingRather, describing the approach as “an invitation from the organization (of the Beltrán Leyva) for the lawyer (Genaro García Luna) to go to the boss’s (Arturo Beltrán Leyva) house to have some whiskeys,” he said.

Sergio Villarreal Barragán also added that in that cordial coexistence the two were drinking, talking and laughing out loudHe even assured that some of Genaro García Luna’s bodyguards were in the house taking care of him from a distance “at a table that was set up for them next to the pool.” That was the first of the two encounters held by the former Secretary of Public Security and Arturo Beltrán Leyva, alias The Beards.

The big one clarified that the alleged kidnapping, which occurred when the collaboration agreements had already been made, actually turned into a meeting in which Arturo Beltrán Leyva wanted to know some things and talk about them face to face with Genaro García Luna who for conceivable reasons had postponed the meeting that for the third time was suspended at the last minute in Mexico City, when they had agreed to meet in a safe house located in Coyoacán.

For this reason, when Arturo Beltrán Leyva found out that Genaro García Luna was moving through Morelos, he ordered Sergio Villarreal Barragán to go in search of Genaro García Luna to greet him. The big one joined a group of men at his disposal in the Cuernavaca area and reported that there were about 100 elements in military uniform belonging to Arturo’s Special Forces (FEA) fully identified with the initials in white on the bulletproof vests who went to intercept the former official’s convoy, which they located on the Cuernavaca-Tepoztlán highway.

The convoy of seven trucks guarding Genaro García Luna was stopped near the community of Santa Catarina. For it, the group commanded by The big one put a checkpoint on the road, blocking the way with more than 35 vehicles. The risk of confrontation was never latent, because even though the order was to take the former Secretary of Public Security to the house of The Beardshe was very clear when he said that He did not want any casualties and asked that the life of the former official be respected.

It was The big one who stopped in the middle of the road when the García Luna convoy was at least a kilometer away to “welcome him with open arms and not start a slaughter”. Sergio Villarreal recounted that the convoy stopped dead about 50 meters from where he was and after about five minutes the third truck Genaro García Luna also got out with open arms.

Villarreal Barragán attributed the calm reaction of the former Secretary of Public Security and his escorts to the fact that the former official recognized him from a distance.

According to the story in the book GraduateGenaro García Luna approached The big one surrounded by his group of escorts, however, refused to shake the hand of the Beltrán Leyva lieutenantwhich upset Sergio Villareal Barragán, who is now serving as a witness in the former Secretary’s trial in New York.

Despite this, Villarreal Barragán asserted his superiority, at least in the number of armed men who accompanied him, to tell García Luna that he had the order to take him “by hook or by crook” to his employer’s house (Arturo Beltrán Leyva) that I was waiting for it.

The journalistic work of Ricardo Ravelo Galo refers that Genaro García Luna did not oppose or hesitate, he agreed to go to the appointment and he responded to The big one to tell him the place and he would be there, however, Sergio Villarreal Barragán contradicted him and told him that he had to go with him in his truck and that, if he wanted, some of his bodyguards could accompany him. Both agreed to reduce the convoys.

Only three trucks arrived at Arturo Beltrán Leyva’s house: in the first they went The big one and Garcia Lunawith two escorts each, in the second, which was an official vehicle, was a group of six AFI escorts, and in the third, a group from the FEA.

Sergio Villarreal Barragán described the greeting between Beltrán Leyva and García Luna inside the safe house as “the meeting of two bastards, who needed and respected each other” and described that they were treated as such “there was a lot of respect, it was all laughter”.

The meeting lasted just over four hours, was also present Hector Beltran Leyva. The book Graduate points out that only the Beltrán Leyva brothers and the former official knew what they were talking about, none of the bodyguards of the three men approached the table, they all remained at a distance and the waiter service was suspended as soon as Genaro García Luna entered the house. The big one He explained that Héctor Beltrán Leyva was the one who occasionally got up to bring the whiskey with ice.

According to the story of The big onethe meeting ended when it was already nightHéctor and Arturo Beltrán Leyva took Genaro García Luna to the door and they said goodbye with a handshakethe brothers were very happy but no one but them knew the reasons.

After the meeting turned into a party and Sergio Villarreal Barragán was ordered to go out in search of “Live Music”, which was how Arturo Beltrán Leyva referred to Joan Sebastianyour favourite singer. The big one remembered that the singer arrived a day later at the house of The Beards to continue the celebration that had lasted for two days.

KEEP READING: