The US charges 10 Mexican officials, including the governor of Sinaloa, with drug trafficking

The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were indicted on drug-trafficking and weapons charges in a U.S. case that was not opened Wednesday in New York, accused of helping to import large amounts of illegal drugs into the United States.

Other officials were members of Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, posing a political dilemma for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as he wanted. to reduce rising pressures from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called this case a political attack on their party.

US government officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were arrested, but the Mexican government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple requests for extradition to the US without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.

The 10 people indicted in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa since November 2021.

The charges against Moya include conspiracy to import narcotics and possession of large firearms and destructive materials, as well as another conspiracy. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison or life in prison.

In a statement posted on social media, Rocha, the top official indicted, said he “absolutely rejects” the charges against American officials, calling the allegations “an attack.”

“It is part of a twisted strategy to violate the constitutional order, especially national sovereignty,” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “We will show them that this slander is baseless.”

Rocha was a close friend of Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The governor enthusiastically supported the former president’s “Hugs, Not Bullets” policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. López Obrador built a political platform by insulting the corruption that pervades Mexican politics.

Some of those named, according to the indictment, also participated in the Sinaloa Cartel’s campaign of violence and revenge.

The case alleges that they work closely with the Sinaloa Cartel group known as “Los Chapitos,” which is run by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former cartel leader who is now serving a life sentence in a US prison.

Authorities said the defendants played a key role in helping the cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American criminal groups. designated as terrorist organizations by the US government.

“As the indictment makes clear, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, cannot operate freely or effectively without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials at their helm,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

DEA Director Terrance Cole said in a statement that “the defendants are alleged to have used positions of trust to protect the operation of the cartel, allowing the pipeline of deadly drugs to enter our country.”

The case of Rocha, who was born in the same city as “El Chapo,” is particularly noteworthy because the governor was involved in a scandal in 2023 involving the Sinaloa Cartel. His name was published in a letter written by a capo of the Sinaloa Cartel capo who was kidnapped by the leaders of a rival cartel group and handed over to law enforcement in the US In the letter, the capo said that when he was kidnapped he believed he was on his way to meet Rocha.

In the years since then, two warring factions have ravaged northern Mexico in their struggle for territorial control.

The US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement that “although we cannot comment on the facts of each of these cases, and the legal process will need to play out, one thing is certain: the corruption that constitutes organized crime and harms both our countries will be investigated and prosecuted wherever the power of the United States operates.”

Of those indicted, at least three officials — Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa’s capital, and Enrique Cazarez, a senator — were members of Sheinbaum’s group, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unrelated to Mexican parties.

This is not the first time the US has brought drug-trafficking charges against Mexican officials. In 2023, Genaro García Luna – Mexico’s former secretary of public security under former President Felipe Calderón – was convicted by a US court and sentenced 38 years in prison after being accused of bribing the Sinaloa Cartel. He denied the allegations and is appealing his sentence.

The unsealed case on Wednesday comes after Johnson said last week that the US administration would launch an anti-corruption crackdown on Mexican officials he said were linked to organized crime.

“Corruption doesn’t just block progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and destroys the trust markets rely on. It’s not a problem without victims,” ​​Johnson said.

Sheinbaum responded on Monday that his government saw “no evidence” of corruption.

“Any investigation in the United States against any Mexican must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General’s Office,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum’s government has already arrested several local officials across Mexico in its crackdown on cartels, fueled by pressure from the Trump administration.