MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A United States (US) court on Thursday ordered a convicted former Mexican security chief and his wife to pay more than US$2.4 billion to their country in a civil suit, Mexico’s government said.

Mexico sued Genaro Garcia Luna, who is imprisoned in the United States for drug trafficking, for alleged corruption and money laundering involving public contracts.

The money awarded by a Florida court is three times the amount that the Mexican government had originally sought, a government statement said.

Garcia Luna, 56, was convicted by a US court in 2023 of taking millions of dollars in bribes to allow the Sinaloa Cartel to smuggle tons of cocaine.

A New York judge sentenced him to more than 38 years in prison and a US$2 million fine.

Garcia Luna, who held high-ranking security positions in his country from 2001 until 2012, was the highest-ranking Mexican government figure ever to face trial in the United States.

He served as chief of the Mexican equivalent of the FBI from 2001 until 2006, when he was elevated to secretary of public security, essentially running the federal police force and most counter-drug operations.