At the beginning of the first hearing in the second week of the trial against the former Secretary of Security, Genaro García Luna, Oscar “El Lobo” Nava Valencia, who was head of the Milenio Cartel in Guadalajara, testified that he delivered at least $10 million dollars in bribes to the former official.
“El Lobo” revealed that he attended several meetings with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel such as Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, Juan José “El Azul” Esparragoza Moreno and that they in collaboration with Arturo Beltrán Leyva sought to gain the protection of the government. Nava Valencia detailed the delivery of money meant to cover the Sinaloa Cartel for the terms of Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón.
The defense has objected 4 times so far to what El Lobo has stated. The prosecution has had to rethink its questions about the meetings and money received by Genaro García Luna.
The former leader of the Milenio Cartel/Los Valencias (a precursor to Los Cuinis) said that in 2006 he attended a meeting where he contributed $2.5 million to García Luna to guarantee protection for the Sinaloa Cartel and its allies. In addition, hitmen were sent to Michoacán to help them fight against La Familia Michoacana. Lobo Valencia also described two meetings with García Luna, one in Cuernavaca in 2007 and another in Guadalajara in 2008, at a car wash where Luis Cardenas Palomino was also present at that meeting. An additional $500,000 was paid to Luna at that time as well.
He also testified about a 2008 meeting with several leaders: El Chapo, El Mayo, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, Nacho Coronel, and La Barbie to go over operations in CDMX, Quintana Roo, Cuernavaca, and Michoacan.
Later in 2008, as the war between CDS and BLO began; El Lobo says he was kidnapped by La Barbie and El Indio in Interlomas. After convincing them that he was an ally of the Beltrán Leyva, he paid $5 million dollars and they let him go. But, like Garcia Luna did following his own kidnapping by Arturo Beltran, he strengthened his alliance with El Mayo and El Chapo.
 |
Oscar Nava-Valencia was a leader of the Milenio Cartel and formed an alliance with Sinaloa leaders.
|
Background on “El Lobo”
In 2015, Oscar Nava-Valencia, 42, of Guadalajara, Mexico, received a 25-year sentence for his role in the smuggling of over 3 metric tons of cocaine from Panama. Nava-Valencia previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Houston. He had been extradited to the US from Mexico back in 2011 after being captured in Jalisco in late 2009. His brother Juan “El Tigre” took over leadership but he himself was arrested a year later in 2010 by the Mexican Army.
The Valencia or Milenio Cartel dates back to the 1990s when the family-controlled opium and marijuana growing and smuggling in the Jalisco and Michoacan areas. The brothers were then responsible for cocaine shipments from South and Central America coming into the Port of Manzanillo, Colima.
False Paperwork for the 20 Tons of Cocaine Seized
He also testified that when more than 20 tons of cocaine was seized in Manzanillo, the Sinaloa cartel owed their Colombian suppliers $50 million. Garcia Luna allegedly provided a document to Arturo Beltran Leyva saying the cocaine had actually been seized in Colombian territory by the US and the Mexican Navy, shifting the drug debt away from the Mexican cartels. Lobo stated that he paid Luna $5 million to try and solve the problem and retrieve the drugs.
Oscar Orlando Nava Valencia has been imprisoned in the United States since 2011, revealed in December 2021 the role of Rubén Oseguera “El Menchito” within CJNG. His statement was key for the United States government to request his extradition.
.jpeg)