U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes Jr., left, lecturing on information law.

A magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York decided Tuesday that former Mexican cabinet member Genaro García Luna will stay in jail, finding that the 51-year-old's lawyer had not proved that his client was at high risk during the COVID-19 outbreak.

García Luna is accused of assisting the powerful Sinaloa cartel while he served as Mexico's secretary of public security between 2006 and 2012, according to prosecutors who have linked his case to the powerful convicted drug kingpin known as El Chapo.

Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said during the telephone hearing Tuesday that they're taking the coronavirus seriously, but officials in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center have compiled a list of high-risk inmates and García Luna is not on it.

The New York Law Journal monitored the proceedings remotely.

García Luna's lawyer, César de Castro, said he filed evidence, under seal, showing that García Luna had a medical issue related to his respiratory system a few years ago. De Castro said the issue recurred in 2019, but he didn't have documents to that effect.

At least one coronavirus case has been confirmed among inmates at the MDC, according to the Bureau of Prisons, and the facility is currently the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit involving more than 500 at-risk inmates. De Castro said he's having trouble contacting García Luna at the MDC to ask about his current health.

"I know he's very scared and is very concerned that he will contract the virus and if he does, it will have a very significant effect," de Castro said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes Jr. denied García Luna's request for temporary release, saying that he hadn't provided any "definitive indication" that he suffers from a chronic respiratory issue or another health problem that would put him at high risk.

De Castro said after the hearing that he's considering an appeal to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, but he's struggling to reach his client at the MDC to discuss their options.

Reyes also rejected García Luna's request for release on bail, changing course from U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy's conclusion at the end of February.

At that point, Levy had said García Luna's proposed bail package was not sufficient, but some other package might ensure his return to court.

On Tuesday morning, prosecutors spoke at length about their objections to the current bail package but eventually said they believed the case was not bailable at all.

Reyes agreed.

"I don't believe there are any conditions, or combinations of conditions, that can ensure Mr. García Luna's presence in court when necessary," he said. "Not to minimize the package that's been offered but I don't think it's sufficient. I'm not sure that — given the seriousness of the charges that Mr. García Luna faces and the potential, should he be found guilty, for a significant sentence — that he could resist the urge to flee."

The bail hearing was held by conference call in accordance with Monday's order from the Eastern District's Chief Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, which authorized judges to hold a wide array of proceedings by video or telephone for the next 90 days due to the coronavirus.

Nine minutes into the hearing, which lasted more than an hour, Reyes tried to rein in the number of stray beeps and scuffles audible on the crowded conference call. He repeatedly ordered everyone but the lawyers and court reporter to mute their phones.

"This is a public proceeding, but we have to act as if we were in court," he said. "Anyone in the gallery has to shut up."

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