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EPISODE 6: A STORY OF BETRAYAL

USA V. GARCIA LUNA

[FUTURO SONIC ID]

[FUTURO INVESTIGATES SONIC ID]

MARIA: HELLO, DEAR LISTENER, COMO ESTAS, WELCOME BACK. IT’S MARIA HINOJOSA.

PENILEY: HOLA AGAIN, I’M PENILEY RAMÍREZ.

MARIA: YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PROMISED THAT WE ARE GONNA KEEP YOU INFORMED AND WE’VE BEEN ATTENDING EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE GENARO GARCIA LUNA FEDERAL TRIAL IN NEW YORK. AND TODAY WE’RE GONNA GIVE YOU OUR FIRST UPDATE.

PENILEY: AND, THERE’S A LOT TO TELL, MARIA. 

MARIA: OK, SO LET’S START! HERE WE GO. 

THIS IS “USA V. GARCÍA LUNA” 

Y SALUD!

PENI: SALUD. 

[THEME SONG]

SECURITY GUARD: JURORS, JURORS POTENTIAL OR JURORS POTENTIAL, GO IN LINE, GO TO THE LEFT SIDE MACHINE. FOLKS, IF YOUR MEDIA. JUST GET CLOSER TOGETHER. HUDDLE UP. HOLD EACH OTHER’S HANDS SO YOU STAY WARM.

MARÍA: YOU WANT US TO DO A GROUP HUG? YOU WANT US TO DO A GROUP HUG? 

GUARD: GROUP HUG IS GOOD. 

MARIA: BUT CAN YOU SAY IT IN SPANISH THOUGH?

GUARD: YOU COULD TEACH ME. I’LL SAY IT.

MARIA: ABRAZO DE GRUPO.

GUARD: ¡ABRAZO DE GRUPO!

[LAUGHTER]

SECURITY GUARD: ARE YOU A JURY?

MARIA: THAT’S HOW PENI AND I ARE STARTING OUR DAYS NOWADAYS. THAT IS US OUTSIDE THE U.S. EASTERN DISTRICT COURTHOUSE IN BROOKLYN, AND THAT WAS ON THE VERY FIRST DAY OF THE TRIAL JURY SELECTION, AND USUALLY, WE’RE ARRIVING AROUND SIX AM. 

PENI: THAT’S RIGHT. AND IT’S SO COLD! REMEMBER I WAS BORN IN CUBA? SO I’M NOT USED TO THIS WEATHER, MARIA!

MARIA: I KNOW, I KNOW, POBRECITA! 

PENI: SO MARIA, LET’S FIRST EXPLAIN TO OUR LISTENER WHO MIGHT NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS: IN THE MAJORITY OF THE FEDERAL TRIALS IN THE U.S., YOU CANNOT FILM, PHOTOGRAPH, OR RECORD COURT PROCEEDINGS. 

MARIA: SO WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU BASICALLY, YOU CAN ONLY WALK INTO THE COURTROOM AND ALL YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOU IS A NOTEBOOK AND A PEN. SO THAT’S WHY WE’VE BEEN RECORDING OURSELVES EVERY DAY BEFORE AND AFTER EACH OF THE HEARINGS.

[AMBI SOUND OF THE STREET]

PENI: TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY THE JURY SELECTION STARTS, WE THINK THAT THE TRIAL COULD BE SIX WEEKS TO EIGHT WEEKS. THERE IS A LOT OF EXPECTATION BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW YET IF HE’S GONNA PLEAD GUILTY OF HE’S GONNA KEEP FIGHTING.

PENI: SO ABOUT 45 PEOPLE SHOW UP EVERY DAY, INCLUDING ABOUT 20 JOURNALISTS, MOSTLY FROM MEXICAN PRESS, COVERING THE TRIAL. 

ONE OF THE FEW AMERICANS IS KEEGAN HAMILTON. HE IS A CORRESPONDENT FOR VICE NEWS, AND HE COVERED EL CHAPO’S TRIAL AND NOW HE IS COVERING THIS ONE. 

AND WE CHATTED WITH HIM AFTER THE THIRD LONG DAY IN COURT.

PENI: WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS REGARDING WHAT WE WILL – WHAT WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THIS TRIAL, UH, THAT IT’S IN THE INTEREST OF AN AMERICAN AUDIENCE?

KEEGAN: THE JUDGE AND THE PROSECUTORS ARE GONNA DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO KEEP, YOU KNOW, STUFF ABOUT THE DEA, THE FBI, HOMELAND SECURITY, CIA, ALL THESE AGENCIES THAT GARCIA LUNA WAS WORKING WITH. THEY DON’T WANT THEM TO BE ON TRIAL. THEY WANT THE FOCUS TO BE ON THE DEFENDANT.

MARIA: YEAH, AND YOU KNOW, TO MY SURPRISE, IT’S NOT JUST PENI, ME, AND KEEGAN, AND OTHER JOURNALISTS WHO ARE HERE IN THE COLD. ON THE FIRST DAY OF JURY SELECTION OF THE TRIAL, THERE WERE LIKE SOME REGULAR FOLKS OUT HERE.

MARÍA: SO THERE’S A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PROTESTING RIGHT NOW… THEY HAVE LITTLE HANDMADE POSTERS THAT SAY, GARCIA LUNA, DI LA VERDAD. GARCIA LUNA, TELL THE TRUTH.

MARIA: WE TALKED TO ONE MAN WHO TRAVELED FOUR HOURS IN ORDER TO BE HERE IN THE BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURTHOUSE. 

JUAN VELAZQUEZ:  IT’S ALMOST – OR IT’S IMPOSSIBLE – TO BRING SOMEONE LIKE GENARO GARCÍA LUNA BEFORE THE JUDGES AND DO JUSTICE TO OUR PEOPLE FOR ALL THE CRIMES THAT HE COMMITTED AND THE TERROR THAT HE CREATED OR CAUSED TO THE COUNTRY IN WHAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE CALLED THE WAR AGAINST THE CARTELS. AND WE FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS ALL JUST FAKE. HE WAS SIDING WITH THE BAD GUYS… WE HOPE AND WISH THAT IF WE CANNOT DO JUSTICE IN OUR COUNTRY, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DO JUSTICE FOR US AND FOR ALL.

[MUSIC TRANSITION]

MARIA: SO PENI, IN COURT, WE FINALLY GOT TO SEE GARCIA LUNA IN PERSON. PENILEY, YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING TEN YEARS TO SEE GARCIA LUNA IN PERSON. 

PENI: YES, I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT HE HAS GAINED WEIGHT AND HE HAS GRAY HAIR…

MARIA: IF YOU ARE SEEING HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE LOOKS LIKE AN ABUELITO. IT’S LIKE HE WENT FROM THE GODFATHER TO GRANDFATHER. 

PENI: ALTHOUGH HE STILL MAKES AN EFFORT TO LOOK SHARP, YOU KNOW. EVERY DAY HE WEARS NICE DARK SUITS AND TIES. HE LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER MEMBER OF HIS LEGAL TEAM. HE BLENDS IN – JUST LIKE HE’S ACCUSED OF: BLENDING AS A TRIPLE AGENT. HE WEARS GLASSES THAT REST ON THE TIP OF HIS NOSE, LIKE A PROFESSOR, AND HE TAKES NOTES IN SILENCE FOR THE MOST OF THE DAY. THERE WAS THIS MOMENT, THOUGH, DURING JURY SELECTION WHEN A WOMAN SAID THAT SHE WAS SO SCARED…

MARIA: OH YEAH, I REMEMBER. SHE WAS JUST “I’M SO ANXIOUS ABOUT BEING IN THE SAME COURTROOM WITH SOMEBODY WHO’S ACCUSED OF BEING A NARCO.”

PENI: YEAH, AND THE MAGISTRATE TOLD HER: WELL, THE ACCUSED IS RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM, NOW. AND SHE WAS LIKE: WHAT? I DIDN’T KNOW THAT. 

MARIA: THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME THAT WE SAW GARCÍA LUNA LAUGH AND SMILE.

PENI: YEAH. AND WE HAVEN’T SEEN HIS FACE MUCH EITHER REALLY. THE ONLY TIMES HE WOULD TURN BACK FROM HIS SEAT AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM IS TO ADDRESS HIS WIFE, CRISTINA PEREYRA. YOU CAN READ HIS LIPS. AND HE TELLS HER, “TE AMO, TE AMO, I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.” 

SHE HAS BEEN IN COURT EVERY DAY. I’M SURPRISED TO SEE HER BECAUSE SHE’S INCLUDED IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN MEXICO, AND IN A CIVIL COMPLAINT AGAINST GARCIA LUNA IN MIAMI, FOR ALLEGEDLY HELPING HIM TO HIDE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS WERE STOLEN FROM HIM. 

MARIA: BUT AS FAR AS WE KNOW, SHE’S NOT CHARGED WITH ANY CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES, SO SHE CAN TOTALLY COME TO THE COURTHOUSE AND SUPPORT HER HUSBAND.

[MUSIC]

PENI: SO DURING THE FIRST THREE DAYS, THE COURT INTERVIEWED MORE THAN 150 POTENTIAL JURORS BEFORE THEY GOT DOWN TO THE FINAL SEVEN WOMEN AND FIVE MEN, AND THESE PEOPLE WILL DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT GENARO GARCIA LUNA HELPED THE SINALOA CARTEL TO SMUGGLE MORE THAN 50 TONS OF DRUGS TO THE U.S. AS WE SAID THE LAST TIME, THE JURORS WILL REMAIN ANONYMOUS. SO WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THEM. 

AND ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUT IS THAT TWO OF THEM ARE SKEPTICAL OF CONVICTED CRIMINALS WHO ARE NOW COOPERATING WITH THE US GOVERNMENT.

AND THESE CRIMINAL WILL APPEAR AS WITNESSES, AND AT LEAST FOUR OF THE JURORS THINK THAT MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGAL.

MARIA: AND YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT, OF COURSE, I SECOND THAT.

[MUSIC TRANSITION]

[AD “MIDROLL”]

PENI: MARIA, THIS WEEK YOU HAVE BEEN TRAVELING IN TEXAS FOR ANOTHER FUTURO INVESTIGATES STORY WE ARE WORKING ON, AND I HAVE BEEN COVERING THE TRIAL WITH OUR PRODUCER SOFIA SANCHEZ. 

MARIA: OKAY, OKAY. SO TELL ME: WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? 

PENI: WELL FIRST, GARCIA LUNA’S LAWYER TOLD THE PRESS THAT THEY ARE NOT NEGOTIATING AN AGREEMENT. AND THIS IS HIM. 

LAWYER: NO OFFERS. THERE’S BEEN NO DEALS. WE’RE NOT INTERESTED IN ANY DEAL, UNLESS THEY WANT TO DISMISS THE CHARGES.

MARIA: SO THIS MEANS THAT GARCIA LUNA IS GONNA FACE TRIAL. HE IS GOING TO FIGHT. HE’S GOING TO FIGHT TO CONVINCE THE JURY THAT HE IS INNOCENT. AND YOU KNOW WE HAD SAID DURING THE SERIES THAT WE KIND OF EXPECTED THAT, RIGHT? 

SO, WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

PENI: WE ALSO HEARD THE OPENING STATEMENTS. THE PROSECUTION SAID THAT WHILE GARCIA LUNA WAS A TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, HE HAD, A SECOND, DIRTY, PROFITABLE JOB, WORKING FOR THE SINALOA CARTEL. AND HE SEEMED LIKE A HERO, BUT HE HAD BETRAYED BOTH COUNTRIES: MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES. 

MARIA: WOW, AND SO WHAT DID GARCIA LUNA’S LAWYER SAY?

PENI: HE SHOWED THE JURY PHOTOS OF GARCIA LUNA WITH TOP OFFICERS FROM THE FBI, AND THE DEA, EVEN WITH HILLARY CLINTON. WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THESE PHOTOS IN OUR SERIES. BUT THEY ALSO SHOWED A PHOTO THAT I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND IT WAS A PHOTO OF GARCIA LUNA WITH BARACK OBAMA WHEN OBAMA WAS THE SITTING U.S. PRESIDENT. 

MARIA I MEAN, THAT’S KIND OF IMPORTANT EVIDENCE. YOU CAN’T KIND OF LOOK AWAY FROM THAT.

PENI: SO THEN GARCIA LUNA’S ATTORNEY SAID THAT THE U.S. DECIDED TO ABANDON ONE OF ITS ALLIES AND THAT THIS WAS ALL PART OF A REVENGE FROM THE SINALOA CARTEL AGAINST GARCIA LUNA, FROM CRIMINALS THAT WERE CAPTURED DURING HIS TIME AS SECRETARY OF PUBLIC SECURITY AND WHO WERE LATER EXTRADITED TO THE US. 

MARIA: OK, SO THIS IS WHERE, AGAIN, TRUE CRIME ACTUALLY MEETS TELENOVELA, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE PROSECUTORS SAY THAT GARCÍA LUNA BETRAYED THE U.S., BUT THE DEFENSE SAYS THE US BETRAYED GARCIA LUNA. SO IT’S LIKE…ES UNA HISTORIA DE BETRAYAL…A STORY OF BETRAYAL (TELENOVELA VOICE)

PENI: RIGHT, AND AFTER THAT, WE MET THE PROSECUTION’S FIRST WITNESS, AND IT WAS SERGIO VILLARREAL, AKA EL GRANDE, A FORMER LIEUTENANT OF THE SINALOA CARTEL. 

NEWS REPORT: AT SIX FOOT SIX AND 260 POUNDS, IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY HE WAS CALLED “EL GRANDE,” THE GREAT ONE. 

PENI: EL GRANDE SAID THAT GARCIA LUNA WAS PART OF THE SINALOA CARTEL’S DAILY OPERATIONS AND THAT HE AND SOME OTHER CLOSE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, FOR YEARS, RECEIVED MONEY IN BLACK BAGS FULL OF 100 DOLLAR BILLS, MOSTLY IN SAFE HOUSES IN MEXICO CITY. 

AND THEN HE DROPPED A NAME: DOMINGO. [CASTANETS] DOMINGO IS A FORMER POLICE COMMANDER WHO, ACCORDING TO EL GRANDE, RECEIVED SEVERAL BRIBES FROM THE CARTEL.

MARIA: AND HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS DOMINGO BEFORE?

PENI: ACTUALLY, I HAD MARIA. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT FOR MY BOOK ON GENARO GARCIA LUNA AND FOR OUR PODCAST SERIES, I INTERVIEWED GENERAL ROBERTO AGUILERA.

MARIA: RIGHT, THE FORMER HEAD OF INTELLIGENCE OF THE MEXICAN ARMY.

PENI: EXACTLY. SO, IN MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL AGUILERA, HE TOLD ME ABOUT DOMINGO, DOMINGO GONZALEZ DIAZ. 

ROBERTO AGUILERA: DOMINGO GONZÁLEZ DÍAZ. ERA UNO DE SUS SUS HOMBRES DE CONFIANZA. EN ESE ENTONCES, JOSÉ LUIS SANTIAGO PERSONALMENTE LE LLAMA A GENARO, ME DICE QUE LE LLAMÓ QUE LO SALUDO Y TODO … Y LE PREGUNTÓ POR DOMINGO Y GENARO DIJO SÍ, AQUÍ ESTÁ. AH, QUÉ BUENO. OYE, GENARO ESTE MIRA ESTÁ YENDO GENTE FISCALES DE LA PROCURADURÍA A DETENERLO. POR FAVOR, EVITA QUE VAYA A SALIR. Y CUANDO LLEGAN, CUANDO LLEGAN LOS FISCALES YA SE FUGÓ. 

PENI: SO GENERAL AGUILERA TOLD ME THAT SOME YEARS AGO, DOMINGO WAS GOING TO BE ARRESTED BUT THAT WHEN THEY ARRIVED TO THE PLACE WHERE THEY KNEW HE WAS MEETING WITH GARCIA LUNA, DOMINGO HAD ALREADY FLED. AND, MARIA, THE KEY PART IS THAT, ACCORDING TO GENERAL AGUILERA, GARCIA LUNA KNEW THEY WERE COMING FOR DOMINGO. 

MARIA: OH MY GOD, WHAT? SO HE ALERTED DOMINGO THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE CAPTURED?

PENI: WELL, WE CAN’T SAY THAT FOR SURE, BUT GENERAL AGUILERA DID TELL ME THAT THIS INCIDENT WITH DOMINGO LED TO ONE OF THE EARLY INVESTIGATIONS AGAINST GARCIA LUNA. 

MARIA: OK, SO DOMINGO ESCAPES. GARCIA LUNA STAYS IN HIS HIGH-LEVEL POSITION AND, ESSENTIALLY, KEEPS THE TRUST OF THE U.S. AND NOTHING HAPPENS.

PENILEY: YES, MARIA, AND NOW EL GRANDE SAYS IN COURT THAT DOMINGO WAS RECEIVING MONEY FROM THE CARTEL FOR GARCIA LUNA. HE ALSO CLAIMED GARCIA LUNA ALLEGEDLY WAS LEAKING INFORMATION HE RECEIVED FROM THE DEA TO THE SINALOA CARTEL. 

SO VERY SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS. AND THIS IS JUST STARTING!

MARIA: THAT IS RIGHT, PENI. MY DEAR LISTENER, TOO. YOU ARE NOT GONNA  WANT TO MISS WHAT COMES NEXT! BECAUSE THERE IS MORE WHEN TRUE CRIME MEETS TELENOVELA. WE’LL HAVE MORE OF ALL OF THIS NEXT WEEK. 

PENILEY SO STAY TUNED. SALUD. 

MARIA SALUD, PENI.

CREDITS

“USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA” IS AN ORIGINAL PRODUCTION BY FUTURO INVESTIGATES, A DIVISION OF FUTURO MEDIA, IN COLLABORATION WITH LATINO USA. LEMONADA MEDIA IS OUR ADVERTISING AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNER.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO “USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA” WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS AND ON OUR WEBSITE: FUTURO INVESTIGATES DOT ORG—THAT’S FUTURO INVESTIGATES DOT ORG. 

The work of Futuro Investigates is made possible by the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Tow Foundation, the Geraldine H. Dodge Foundation, Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden, and Hispanics in Philanthropy.

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