US prosecutors accuse the former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico, Genaro García Luna, of threatening and bribing journalists who were investigating him

(CNN Spanish) — The Prosecutor’s Office for the Eastern District of New York accused the former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico, Genaro García Luna, of having threatened and bribed journalists and media outlets investigating his alleged illicit activities, according to a court document to the that CNN had access this Thursday. The alleged actions against the journalists are explained in a petition filed with the court this Wednesday in which the prosecutors request that new evidence be included in the trial that follows the former official for alleged crimes related to drug trafficking. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the evidence “of other acts is directly relevant and is closely intertwined with the evidence of the crimes for which he is accused.” According to the court document, between 2008 and 2013, García Luna “subjected a journalist to a campaign of several years of harassment and threats as a result of the journalist’s investigation of the accused.” García Luna moved to live in Miami in 2012. The Prosecutor’s Office also indicates that between 2009 or 2010, the former official allegedly used money obtained from “a corrupt bribery scheme to pay bribes to a news organization to prevent journalists from the organization from publishing negative stories about him. Prosecutors did not mention the journalist or media outlet by name in the document, nor did they mention whether they were referring to a journalist or outlet from Mexico or the United States. In addition, the Prosecutor’s Office said in its brief that it also wants to use as evidence recordings that it has where it is allegedly proven that García Luna, after his arrest in the United States in December 2019, held several telephone conversations in which “he spoke about threats of violence and witness tampering against him. Garcia Luna’s lawyers had not responded Thursday to requests for comment sent by CNN. García Luna is accused by the US justice system of participating in an ongoing criminal enterprise in which he allegedly supervised or directed various co-conspirators for profit. Other charges include conspiracy to obtain, import and distribute thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, as well as allegedly making false statements to US immigration officials. The former official pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in October 2020. According to the Justice Department, García Luna -who headed the Mexican Federal Investigation Agency between 2001 and 2005 and then was Secretary of Public Security between 2006 and 2012- would have allowed the Sinaloa cartel under the command of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to operate with impunity for more than a decade. Prosecutors assure that the former official gave information about investigations against the cartel by the agencies and even about rival groups to the Sinaloa cartel. He would also have facilitated the transfer of tons of drugs to the United States. García Luna remains detained in a prison in Brooklyn, New York, according to public records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons consulted this Thursday by CNN. García Luna’s next hearing is set for July 15, according to court documents reviewed by CNN.