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USA V. GARCÍA LUNA

EPISODE 10

PRODUCED BY FUTURO INVESTIGATES AND LATINO USA, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEMONADA MEDIA. 

PENILEY: SO DEAR LISTENER, 

[THEME SONG BEGINS]

WE JUST CAME OUT OF THE COURT AND GARCIA LUNA, IT’S GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES. SO WELCOME BACK TO USA

PUBLIC CHANTING: SI SE PUDO! SI SE PUDO! SI SE PUDO!

MARIA: OH DAMN, THAT’S THE WAY YOU DO IT 

[CASTANETS]

SFX

MARIA: BUENO GENTE, IT’S MARIA HINOJOSA HERE, AND THE MOMENT, 

[MUSIC]

YES,  IT HAS ARRIVED. THE JURY DELIVERED ITS DECISION AND THEY FOUND GENARO GARCIA LUNA, OUR GUY, THE HIGHEST FORMER MEXICAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TO EVER FACE TRIAL IN THE US. GUILTY. GUILTY, GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS, FIVE COUNTS, RIGHT, PENILEY. AND AS A RESULT, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE RECORDING THIS EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, HERE WE GO, [OPENS TEQUILA BOTTLE] OH, OKAY. UH, WHOA.

PENILEY: OH MY GOD.

MARIA: OH NO. I’M COVERED IN TEQUILA. OH MY GOD.  SALUD, PENILEY..

PENILEY: SALUD DEAR, MARIA.

MARIA: AND HERE, DEAR LISTENER, IS HOW PENiley AND I LEARNED ABOUT THE VERDICT:

[MUSIC]

[SCENE BEGINS]

PENI:  WE HAVE AN EMAIL FROM THE PRESS OFFICE, FROM THE COURT AND THE EMAIL SAYS A SINGLE WORD: 

MARIA: VERDICT. AND SUDDENLY, WE JUST WERE RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, JUST RUNNING WITH OUR HIGH HEELS TO GET UP TO THE TO THE EIGHTH FLOOR. AND THEN, 

PENI: THE FAMILY’S THERE AND I SPEAK TO THE SKETCH ARTIST AND I SAID, WE GOT AN EMAIL THAT SAID VERDICT AND NOTHING ELSE. AND SHE SAID, WELL, THAT’S IT. AND SHE SUDDEN CHANGES THE DRAWING AND START DRAWING A NEW ONE FOR THE MOMENT WHEN THE JURY, GIVES THE VERDICT TO THE JUDGE. GARCIA LUNA’S DAUGHTER, LISTEN TO US TALKING ABOUT THAT. SHE CALLS ONE OF THE DEFENSE LAWYERS. SHE ASKS HIM, THEN SHE CONFIRM IT TO HER AND THEY GET REALLY TENSE. AND A FEW MINUTES LATER, GARCIA LUNA COMES INTO THE COURT, AND HE’S ALL RED.

MARIA: AND THE SECOND THAT THEY STARTED TO SAY GUILTY ESO FUE PARA MI DE VERDAD IMPRESIONANTE ANABEL AND YOU JUST BREAK DOWN IN TEARS. I MEAN, IT WAS JUST VERY POWERFUL AND IT FEELS LIKE JUSTICE WAS DONE, BUT HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR MEXICAN JOURNALISTS, THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED. 

PENI: THIS IS A LOVE LETTER TO JOURNALISM.

[SCENE ENDS] 

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: YES, DEAR LISTENER. I’M PENILEY RAMIREZ. THIS IS MY FUNNY VOICE. AFTER ALL THOSE DAYS IN FRONT OF THE COURT, WAITING TO GET INSIDE. SO WELCOME BACK.

MARIA: WE HAVE SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. AS WE KNOW, THIS JOURNEY ISN’T QUITE OVER. FOR ONE, SENTENCING IS STILL PENDING. IT’S GONNA HAPPEN JUNE 27TH AT 11:00 AM. BUT FOR NOW, WE’RE GONNA REVISIT THE LAST KEY MOMENTS IN THE TRIAL THAT LED UP TO TUESDAY’S GUILTY VERDICTS. SO WE’RE GONNA START TALKING ABOUT THE LAST WITNESS THAT WE HEARD FROM. THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY PERSON TAKING THE STAND FOR GENARO GARCIA LUNA.

PENILEY: AND THAT PERSON WAS CRISTINA PEREYRA, GENARO GARCIA LUNA’S WIFE.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: YOU KNOW, PENI, I, I HAD NEVER SEEN HER, YOU HAD ACTUALLY SEEN HER IN MEXICO. AND SHE WAS THERE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF COURT, MOSTLY ALONE. SOMETIMES, UH, HER ADULT DAUGHTER OR SON WOULD BE THERE. BUT NO ONE, I MEAN, NO ONE ELSE SHOWED UP FOR GARCIA LUNA, NOT A SIBLING, NOT ANY OF THESE FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO HE KNEW OR HAD PHOTOGRAPHS WITH. ONE THING THAT I DID NOTICE WAS THAT CRISTINA, TOWARDS THE END OF THE TRIAL, SHE TOOK OUT THIS LITTLE LIKE A STUFFED PANDA. AND SHE WAS LIKE MASSAGING THAT PANDA, NONSTOP.

PENILEY: YEAH, I THINK THE, THE PANDA TEDDY BEAR WAS A WAY FOR HER TO STAY CALM. 

MARIA: YOU KNOW, I, I REALLY WONDER HOW CRISTINA’S TESTIMONY INFLUENCED THE JURY BECAUSE ESPECIALLY CRISTINA TESTIFIED THAT SHE MET GARCIA LUNA IN THE , WHICH IS LIKE THE MEXICAN CIA A OKAY. WHICH WAS, REMEMBER NOT A BIG SALARY, RIGHT? THIS IS WHEN THEY, BOTH OF THEM WERE, UM, INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN THE LATE 1980S. SO LATER SHE QUITS AND SHE SAYS THAT SHE DECIDED TO BECOME A BUSINESSWOMAN, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT WEIRD THE BUSINESSES THAT SHE CHOSE TO HAVE.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: SO A “BUSINESSWOMAN.” LET’S REMIND OUR LISTENER THAT AT LEAST ON PAPER, CRISTINA WAS THE OWNER OF SEVERAL OF THE BUSINESSES THAT GARCIA LUNA OPERATED,

MARIA: RIGHT? AND ALTHOUGH THE PROSECUTOR INTERPRETED, UH, CRISTINA’S BUSINESS CHOPS AS SOMETHING ELSE, SHE SAID THAT CRISTINA’S TESTIMONY, THIS IS THE PROSECUTOR, RIGHT, WAS A MASTERCLASS ON HOW TO LAUNDER MONEY OFF CASH-ONLY BUSINESSES. AND THAT CHARACTERIZATION MAY HAVE WEIGHED IN ON JURORS MINDS BECAUSE REMEMBER SHE WAS RUNNING WHAT WE CALL IN MEXICO UNA PAPELERIA, WHICH IS LIKE A LITTLE STATIONARY STORE.

PENILEY: AND YOU’LL REMEMBER MARIA, THAT THE PROSECUTOR ALSO TOLD THE JURY THAT CRISTINA WAS A TRAINED SPY, MAYBE IMPLYING THAT SHE KNEW HOW TO LIE.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU COULD SAY THAT, THAT SHE DID DO A GOOD PERFORMANCE ON THE STAND. YOU KNOW, SHE MADE SURE TO NOT LOOK LIKE THEY HAD MONEY. SO I ACTUALLY MADE A NOTE. IT WAS LIKE SHE WENT AND BOUGHT THE CHEAPEST LOOKING CLOTHES, KIND OF $10.99 JEANS AND A SWEATSHIRT. 

PENILEY: WELL, THE THING IS THAT SHE’S STANDING THERE WITH THIS SWEET VOICE AND THIS CALM FACE AND A FUNNY MOMENT DURING HER TESTIMONY WAS WHEN  SHE HAD THE IDEA OF, PREPARING THIS BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR GARCIA LUNA WITH THE JAMES BOND THEME.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: THERE WAS LIKE AN INVITATION THAT THEY SHOWED. AGAIN, OH OH SEVEN, MR. MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SPY WHO WAS GENARO GARCIA LUNA’S FAVORITE GUY? JAMES BOND.

SFX

PENILEY: EXACTLY. WE TALK ABOUT GARCIA LUNA’S OBSESSION WITH JAMES BOND IN A PREVIOUS EPISODE, BUT THE PROSECUTION SAID THAT THEY DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE PARTY, BUT THIS, SHOWED THE LAVISH LIFESTYLE THAT THE GARCIA LUNA’S FAMILY HAD IN MEXICO.

MARIA: SHE WOULD TESTIFY ABOUT HOW THEY GOT THIS LITTLE LIKE A LITTLE HOUSE. BUT THE ONLY THING THAT THEY BUILT WAS A POOL, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE POOL. AND IT’S LIKE, WHAT? AND THEN WE SOLD THAT. AND THEN WE BUILT A HOUSE, AND THEN WE BUILT ANOTHER CASITA, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WEEKENDS AND THEN ANOTHER ONE. AND IT WAS JUST LIKE, OYEME. THIS DOES NOT FEEL NORMAL.

PENILEY: SO WE ARE SITTING THERE AND WE ARE TAKING NOTES OF ONE CASITAS, SECOND, CASITA, THIRD CASITA, A LOT OF CASITAS. AND WE ARE LIKE, WHAT? 

[MUSIC]

AND THEN IT WAS A MOMENT WHEN SHE MENTIONED THAT, OH, THEY BOUGHT A LAND RUBBER, THIS SUPER EXPENSIVE TRUCK. AND SHE SAID, OH, WE NEVER DROVE IT. AND I COULDN’T EVEN REMEMBER WHY I BOUGHT IT.

MARIA: YOU KNOW, THAT’S WHY WATCHING TESTIMONY IN REAL LIFE IS SO IMPORTANT CUZ SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HER BASICALLY SAYING, YEAH, WE HAD THIS, YOU KNOW, RANGE ROVER OH MY GOD. AND WE KIND OF NEVER EVEN USED IT. I WAS LIKE, NOT A GOOD THING TO SAY ON THIS STAND.

PENILEY: YEAH. AND THE, THE, THE FACES OF THE JURY WERE LIKE US — WERE LIKE, WHAT? AND FIRST SHE SAYS, OH, I CAN ONLY RIDE ARMORED TRUCKS BECAUSE OF THE SECURITY DETAIL AND EVERYTHING. BUT THEN SHE SAYS, OH, I, I LOVE TO BUY, UH, MOTORCYCLES 

MARIA: FOR MY HUSBAND

PENILEY: FOR MY HUSBAND, AS PRESENTS BECAUSE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. BUT, SO I WAS THERE THINKING, SO MAYBE THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS LIKE AN INVISIBLE ARMOR. IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE. AND THAT DAY IN COURT WE WERE SEATED NEXT TO ANABEL HERNANDEZ, THIS MEXICAN BRAVE JOURNALIST. AND SHE HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING GARCIA LUNA FOR A LONGER PERIOD THAN ME BECAUSE SHE STARTED INVESTIGATING HIM WHEN HE WAS IN POWER. AND WE MENTIONED HER IN EPISODE THREE OF OUR SERIES.

SFX

EPISODE 3: FOR YEARS, ANABEL HAVE BEEN COVERING ALL OF GARCIA LUNA’S ALLEGED TIES TO THE CARTELS AND HIS ILLICIT ENRICHMENT. SHE RECEIVED NUMEROUS DEATH THREATS. AND WAS FORCED TO LEAVE MEXICO.

SFX

MARIA: SO WE WERE HANGING ON EVERY WORD OF CRISTINA PEREYRA’S TESTIMONY. AND BASICALLY TALKING ABOUT JOURNALISTS WHO WERE INVASIVE BECAUSE FRANKLY A LOT OF WHAT, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CRISTINA’S EXPENSIVE HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN MEXICO, ALL OF THAT WAS BECAUSE OF ANABEL HERNANDEZ AND HER INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM IN MEXICO THAT WAS UNCOVERING ALL OF THIS. ESSENTIALLY IT ENDED UP FORCING GARCIA LUNA AND HIS WIFE CRISTINA PEREYRA, TO HAVE TO GO PUBLIC WITH THE INFORMATION. SO WE ASKED ANABEL FOR HER OPINION ABOUT CRISTINA’S TESTIMONY, AND I WAS RIVETED,

SFX

ANABEL: PARA MÍ, FUÉ REALMENTE ENTRE ENTRE CÓMICO Y TRÁGICO. PORQUE ESTA MUJER SE SENTÓ AHÍ. NO JURÓ DECIR LA VERDAD Y NADA MÁS QUE LA VERDAD. Y UNA BUENA PORCIÓN DE LO QUE DIJO SOBRE TODO LO SUSTANTIVO ERAN MENTIRAS, NO?

SFX

[MUSIC]

MARIA: ANNABEL SAID THAT WATCHING CRISTINA, SHE WAS LIKE, SHE LIED UNDER OATH. AND THEN SHE SAID IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A TRAGIC COMEDY.

PENILEY: AND CRISTINA IMPLIED THAT BECAUSE OF THE PRESS, SHE AND HER FAMILY WERE FORCED TO MOVE TO A SAFER AND MORE SPACIOUS HOUSE. THAT WORK FROM THE PRESS WAS THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED BY ANABEL.

ANABEL: ES FALSA PORQUE LAS DOS CASAS EXISTÍAN SIMULTÁNEAMENTE. ELLA TENÍA UNA Y TE ESTABA CONSTRUYENDO LA OTRA.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: SO WHAT ANABEL IS TELLING US IS THAT THE TWO HOMES EXISTED SIMULTANEOUSLY AND WE DID NOT GET THAT THROUGH HER TESTIMONY. RIGHT?

PENILEY: THAT’S RIGHT, MARIA. BECAUSE BETWEEN 2007 AND 2008, GARCIA, LUNA AND CRISTINA BOUGHTED THEIR SECOND HOUSE AND THEN THE THIRD HOUSE IN MEXICO CITY, AND THIS IS WHY THIS IS RELEVANT. 

[MUSIC]

CRISTINA SAID IN COURT THAT THEY HAD MONEY TO BUY THE SECOND HOUSE BECAUSE THEY SOLD THE FIRST HOUSE, BUT SHE DIDN’T SAY THAT THE BUYER OF THE FIRST HOUSE WAS A LONGTIME EMPLOYEE OF GARCIA LUEN. SO THE MEXICAN CIA

MARIA: SO WE JUST GONNA UNDERSCORE THIS, RIGHT. GARCIA LUNA SOLD HIS FIRST HOUSE TO AN EMPLOYEE, ANOTHER SPY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE DIDN’T HEAR THAT ON THE STAND.

PENILEY: WELL, FOR MY INVESTIGATION, FOR MY BOOK, I HAD ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS OF THIS PROMISE OF PAYMENTS, BUT THERE IS NO PROOF THAT THE EMPLOYEE ACTUALLY PAID FOR THE FIRST HOUSE.

MARIA: I’M JUST LEARNING ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW. OKAY. DIOS MIO.

PENILEY: HOWEVER, CRISTINA SAID THAT THEY RECEIVED THE MONEY AND THEY USED THE MONEY TO BUY THE SECOND HOUSE, AND THEN THEY BOUGHT THE THIRD HOME.

MARIA: RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY WANTED MORE PRIVACY. SO THAT ANABEL HERNANDEZ COULDN’T BE SUCH A THREAT AND TAKE PICTURES OF THE HOUSE. OOH.

PENILEY: AND ANABEL WAS THERE AND SAID, YES. I MADE IT. I TOOK PICTURES. ANYWAY, SO THIS THIRD HOUSE, CRISTINA SAID IN COURT THAT THEY OBTAINED A BANK LOAN, BUT SHE DIDN’T MENTION THAT SHE PAID THE THIRD HOUSE DOWN PAYMENT WITH A LOAN FROM A FRIEND, AND THE LOAN WAS ABOUT $320,000. AND YOU THINK YOU HAVE GOOD FRIENDS, MARIA. 

[MUSIC]

SO FOR MY INVESTIGATION, I OBTAINED A COPY OF THAT FRIEND LOAN

MARIA: OF THE LOAN FROM THE FRIEND?

PENILEY: YES.

MARIA: OH MY GOD.

PENILEY: I PUBLISHED IT, UH, FOR MY BOOK. AND WHEN I PUBLISHED THIS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THAT FRIEND CAME PUBLICLY AND SAID THAT THE LOAN NEVER EXISTED.

MARIA: OH MY GOD. SO BASICALLY, CRISTINA ALLEGES THAT THIS FRIEND LOANED HER 320 K AND THAT SHE USED THAT MONEY FOR HER THIRD HOUSE. BUT NOW THE FRIEND IS DENYING ALL OF THIS. THIS WEEK I DID END UP SPEAKING TO CESAR DE CASTRO, GARCIA LUNA’S LAWYER. IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF JURY DELIBERATIONS. I SAID THAT I WANTED TO DO AN INTERVIEW WITH CRISTINA AND HE SAID HE WOULD PASS ALONG THE REQUEST PERO WE DIDN’T HEAR FROM CRISTINA EXCEPT FOR WHEN SHE SPOKE ON THE STAND.

PENILEY: YES. AND GOING BACK TO HER TESTIMONY, THEY WERE BUYING ALL THESE PROPERTIES AROUND THE SAME TIME AS WHEN GARCIA LUNA WAS RECEIVING BRIBES.

MARIA: AGAIN, IT, IT SAYS A LOT THAT THE JURY DIDN’T HAVE ACCESS TO ANY OF THIS INFORMATION. UM, THE JURY BASICALLY JUST HEARD CRISTINA, THIS BUSINESSWOMAN TELLING THIS STORY OF BUYING AND SELLING HOMES AND BUYING AND SELLING BUSINESSES.

PENILEY: YES. AND FINALLY, THE PROSECUTOR SHOWED CRISTINA THAT FOR YEARS, SHE AND GARCIA LUNA DIDN’T REPORT THEIR EARNINGS FROM ALL THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT SHE HAD IN MEXICO.

MARIA: THERE WAS THAT AHA MOMENT WHEN IT’S LIKE, SO YOU WERE BASICALLY SAYING THAT YOU HAD ZERO INCOME, ZERO INCOME, ZERO INCOME, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HAD 3.2 MILLION PESOS OF INCOME, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, AND SO SHE HAD THIS POKER FACE. AND CRISTINA THEN SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME MISTAKES. AND THEN THEY DID A QUOTE UNQUOTE “ADJUSTMENT.” SHE SAID UNDER OATH TO GARCIA LUNA’S INCOME TAX REPORT. AND THIS HAPPENED JUST BEFORE HE LEFT OFFICE. IT WAS A BIG ADJUSTMENT.

PENILEY: AND THE ADJUSTMENT WAS REPORTING ALMOST $1 MILLION IN EARNINGS THAT THEY MM. FORGOT TO REPORT.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: IT’S KIND OF HARD, I THINK TO MISPLACE A MILLION DOLLARS OR FORGET A MILLION DOLLARS, BUT THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID.

PENILEY: SO I THINK MARIA, THAT FOR THE JURY DELIBERATION, CRISTINA’S TESTIMONY WAS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE SHE WAS THE ONLY WINDOW TO GARCIA LUNA. INSIDE LIFE AS HE DIDN’T TESTIFY. THAT WAS JUST HER. IT REALLY CLICKED TO ME LIKE, MM, I DON’T KNOW IF I’M A JUROR, I DON’T BELIEVE THIS WOMAN SO MUCH.

MARIA: YEAH, THE DECISION TO PUT G ON THE STAND MAY BE SOMETHING THAT THE DEFENSE MAYBE THINKING ABOUT, BUT WE’VE GOT A LOT MORE ON THE LEAD UP TO THE FINAL GUILTY VERDICT. WE’RE GONNA DO THAT JUST AFTER THIS BREAK. NO TE VAYAS .

MIDROLL

MARIA: SO MY DEAR LISTENER, WELCOME TO WHAT HAS BEEN WELL, A ROLLER COASTER. IT’S BEEN A REAL WILD RIDE. 

[ELEVATOR AMBI]

PENI: AND WHILE WE WERE WAITING FOR THE VERDICT, IT WAS REALLY INTENSE. WE LITERALLY WERE RUNNING IN THE COURTHOUSE

[RUNINNG IN COURTHOUSE AMBI]

MARIA: RUNNING. IN HIGH HEELS.

PENILEY: , AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I LOOK AT MY CELL PHONE AND THERE IS AN EMAIL SAYING THE JUDGE WILL BE TAKING THE BENCH SHORTLY. SO WE JUST START RUNNING.

MARIA: LITERALLY JUST TOOK ALL OF OUR FOOD THAT WE WERE EATING, OUR RICE AND BEANS AND EVERYTHING, AND WE JUST LIKE SCOOPED IT ALL UP, THREW IN THE GARBAGE, AND WE STARTED RUNNING OUT OF THE CAFETERIA WITHOUT REALIZING THAT GENARO GARCIA’S WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE WATCHING US AND ALL THE JOURNALISTS LEAVING.

PENILEY: SO WE GET INTO THE ELEVATOR AND THEY JUST COME RUNNING THE DAUGHTER AND CRISTINA THE WIFE, AND THEY’RE LIKE, STILL EATING. AND THE, THE DAUGHTER IS SO NERVOUS. SHE’S BREEZING LIKE, AND ,. AND THEN WE JUST GO TO THE EIGHTH FLOOR

MARIA: THE DAUGHTER WAS HUGGING HER. AND THEY’RE HUGGING EACH OTHER. AND WE WERE TOLD BY ANOTHER JOURNALIST THAT WHEN THEY SAW US RUNNING HE SAID HER SOUL LEFT HER BODY FOR A MINUTE. BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE A VERDICT.

PENILEY: IT’S BEEN HAPPENING AND HAPPENING, WE RECEIVED SOME EMAILS SO WE RUSH OURSELVES TO THE EIGHTH FLOOR AND SOMETIMES IT’S BECAUSE THE JURY IS ASKING FOR SOMETHING TO THE JUDGE. THIS IS THE WAY. WE ARE SPENDING OUR HOURS NOW.

MUSIC

PENILEY: AND ALL OF THIS WAS A FALSE ALARM, AND IT HAPPENED OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR DAYS AND EVERY TIME WAS SO INTENSE.

MARIA: EVEN THE PROSECUTOR’S MOM, WHO’S AN IMMIGRANT FROM INDIA CAME TO WATCH HER DAUGHTER DELIVER THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS, AND THE DEFENSE LAWYER HAD HIS WIFE TO COME IN AND WATCH HIM DELIVER THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS BECAUSE IT’S THEIR PROFESSIONAL MOMENT. IT’S LIKE A PEAK MOMENT IN THEIR CAREER.

PENILEY: YEAH, AND THE PROSECUTORS MATERIAL SPEND MORE THAN THREE HOURS EXPLAINING WHY, ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT’S CASE, GARCIA LUNA HELPED CARTEL AND SHE CALLED HIM, “THE FEDEX OF COCAINE.”

MARIA: THE FEDEX OF COCAINE. 

[CAR BEEPS SFX] 

THAT’S A GREAT ONE-LINER

PENILEY: SHE RECAPPED THAT THEY BROUGHT NINE COOPERATING WITNESSES 

MARIA: AND THAT SHE SAID YES, THEY HAD THE FUNNY NICKNAMES. OF COURSE, ALL OF THE APODOS

SFX

PENILEY: BUT ALSO THEY BROUGHT MULTIPLE FORMER OFFICIALS FROM MEXICO, SOME WHO EXPLAINED HOW THEY SERVED THE CARTEL AND OTHER WHO ALERTED ABOUT GARCIA LUNA YEARS BEFORE HIS ARREST.

MARIA: PROSECUTORS EVEN BROUGHT FORMER US OFFICIALS WHO HAD WORKED WITH GARCIA LUNA IN MEXICO, BROUGHT HIM TO THE STAND. BUT STILL, THE DEFENSE CONTINUED TO ARGUE MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE TRIAL THAT THE PROSECUTION HAD NO REAL EVIDENCE, I.E. NO HARD EVIDENCE, NO SMOKING GUN AS IT WERE. NO PHOTO, NO VIDEO, NO RECORDING, AND THAT THIS, THEY SAID WAS A WEAKNESS IN THE PROSECUTION’S CASE.

PENILEY: BECAUSE THE PROSECUTOR CLAIMED THAT THEY BROUGHT THE BEST EVIDENCE, AND THAT WAS SEVERAL WITNESSES THAT THEY DIDN’T KNOW EACH OTHER, THEY HATED EACH OTHER, OR THEY HAVEN’T SPOKEN ANYMORE THAN 15 YEARS. BUT THEY REFERRED TO THE SAME MOMENTS IN GARCIA LUNA’S LIFE, AND TO THE SAME BRIBE PAYMENTS.

MARIA: I DO THINK THAT THAT WAS A MOMENT THAT CLICKED FOR THE JURY WHEN THE PROSECUTION SAID THE PEOPLE, THEY ALL ENDED UP SAYING BASICALLY THE SAME THING. AND REMEMBER, THESE GUYS HATE EACH OTHER.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: SO BACK AT COURT WE WAITED AND WAITED SOME MORE UNTIL FINALLY

PENI: SO I TWEETED. LOOK AT MY TWEET. 

MARIA: YOU DID IT. YOU DID IT. YOU WERE RIGHT. YOU WERE RIGHT A DECADE AGO. YOU SAW IT. YOU WERE RIGHT. TENIAS RAZON COMO BUENA PERIODISTA. LO INVESTIGASTE Y TENIAS RAZON. 

PENI: THEIR FACES THEIR FACES THEY WERE LIKE STONE FACE YEAH IT WAS LIKE NOTHING NOT A SINGLE TIER NOTHING RIGHT ‘

MARIA: SHE DIDN’T? LUNA DIDN’T CRY?

PENI: NO NO NOBODY CRIED NOTHING NOTHING STONE FACES HE HE WAS SO RED HIS HIS HIS FACE WAS SO RED 

MARIA: OH HE JUST HE LOOKED LIKE HELL. HE LOOKED LIKE HE HAD IT’S GOTTEN SUNBURNED ON HIS FACE AND HE LOOKED COMPLETELY DEPRESSED AND LIKE I’M NOT GETTING OUT OF THIS. YA. YA PASÓ. YA PASÓ. 

[MUSIC}

PENI:  WE ARE RECORDING THIS EPISODE THE DAY AFTER THE VERDICT, AND. YOU KNOW, THE MEXICAN PRESS TODAY IS FULL, FULL OF PHOTOS AND IMAGES OF GARCIA LUNA, AND “GUILTY. GUILTY, GUILTY. GUILTY” AS A HEADLINE IN EVERY NEWSPAPER IN MEXICO TODAY. AND WE HAVE SEEN SOME COVERAGE IN THE US NEWS MEDIA, BUT NOT THAT MUCH. 

MARIA: NO. IN FACT, PENI,  IT WAS VERY SAD FOR ME TO SEE HOW LITTLE ATTENTION THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IN ENGLISH IS PAYING TO THIS CASE. WE HAVE BEEN THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS CASE ALONG WITH KEEGAN HAMILTON FROM VICE AND A FEW OTHERS, BUT ESSENTIALLY IS LIKE AMERICANS, THE DRUG WAR, CAN WE JUST WATCH IT ON “NARCOS” OR ON “OZARK” OR YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT IN REAL LIFE, WE DON’T REALLY WANNA KNOW. WE DON’T CARE. 

PENI: THIS TRIAL IS OVER FOR NOW, BUT WE ARE NOT DONE WITH THE STORY. AND OF COURSE WE ARE NOT DONE WITH THE PODCAST 

[MUSIC]

WE REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT’S COMING ON FOR GARCIA LUNA, AFTER THIS VERDICT? HE HAD OTHER CASES PENDING IN MEXICO AND IN MIAMI, AND WE REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE US AND THE WAR ON DRUGS. 

MARIA: SO DON’T FORGET. NEXT WEEK, ANOTHER EPISODE OF USA VERSUS GARCIA. LUNA AND I WILL SAY THERE WILL BE SOME CHISME. OKAY. A LITTLE BIT OF GOSSIP, A LITTLE BIT OF SPILLING THE TEA. YOU’RE NOT GONNA WANNA MISS IT.  HASTA ENTONCES. UNTIL THE NEXT TIME.. 

PENI AND MARIA: SALUD.

CREDITS

USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA IS AN ORIGINAL PRODUCTION BY FUTURO INVESTIGATES IN COLLABORATION WITH LATINO USA AND FUTURO STUDIOS. LEMONADA MEDIA IS OUR ADVERTISING AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNER.

OUR HOSTS ARE MARÍA HINOJOSA AND PENILEY RAMIREZ, EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS OF FUTURO UNIDAD HINOJOSA, THE INVESTIGATIONS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION OF FUTURO MEDIA. 

THIS EPISODE WAS PRODUCED BY JUAN DIEGO RAMIREZ AND SOFÍA SÁNCHEZ. THIS SERIES IS EDITED BY ANDREA LÓPEZ-CRUZADO. OUR ASSOCIATE PRODUCER IS ROXANA AGUIRRE. FACT CHECKING BY ARTURO ANGEL. 

NANCY TRUJILLO AND RAUL PEREZ ARE OUR PROJECT MANAGERS. 

OUR ENGINEERS ARE STEPHANIE LEBOW, JULIA CARUSO AND LEAH SHAW DAMERON. MUSIC AND SCORING BY JACOB ROSATI. 

THIS SERIES WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION, CHAN ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE AND HISPANICS IN PHILANTHROPY. 

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE REST OF “USA VS. GARCÍA LUNA” TODAY, WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS AND ON OUR WEBSITE AT FUTUROINVESTIGATES.ORG — THAT’S F UTURO INVESTIGATES DOT-O-R-G. VISIT OUR SITE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ON “USA V. GARCÍA LUNA”. 

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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