The US has indicted the governor of Sinaloa state and other officials for complicity in drug trafficking
The federal prosecutor's office in New York has charged the governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Ruben Rocha Moya, with complicity in drug trafficking, in a rare action against a Mexican official in office, he along with other officials being accused of alleged ties to organized crime, reports AFP.
Law enforcement in the city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa state PHOTO shutterstock
Ruben Rocha Moya, a member of the Morena Party, which is in power in Mexico, governs the state of Sinaloa (northwest) from 2021. During his term, the state was rocked by violent armed confrontations between factions of the cartel of the same name, according to news.
Rocha Moya and nine other current or former Mexican officials are accused of having ties to the Sinaloa cartel “to distribute massive amounts of drugs in the United States.”
Among the other officials are the senator from Morena Enrique Inzunza, an elected from the leadership of the city of Culiacan, the state capital, Juan de Dios Gamez, the deputy state prosecutor, Damaso Castro, and the local minister of Administration and Finance, Enrique Diaz Vega.
Rocha Moya rejected these accusations on Wednesday on X as “lacking any truth and any foundation”.
“This attack does not only target my person, but also the “Fourth Transformation” Movement”he wrote.
Links to El Chapo?
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will protest near Washington.
The treaties in force between the two countries “provide for the confidentiality of the information, and therefore a note of protest will be sent to the United States Embassy, due to the way in which this information was made public”, the Mexican diplomacy announced in a statement.
The ministry said, without specifically mentioning the governor of Sinaloa, that the US government has submitted extradition requests for “several people”.
These documents do not contain “evidence to establish responsibility”, states the ministry.
On Wednesday evening, the General Prosecutor's Office of Mexico announced the opening of an investigation against the persons concerned, aimed at “to determine whether there is evidence that would allow to establish to what extent the accusations made by the American authorities have legal foundations”announced a spokesman, Ulises Lara.
The prosecutor's office in New York states that the faction of the sons of Joaquin Guzman, alias El Chapo, of the Sinaloa cartel – known as “Chapitos” – helped Rocha Moya to be elected to the post of governor.
“Instead, both before and after he became governor, Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos, promising them protection while they distribute massive amounts of drugs in the United States”according to the New York prosecutor's office.
The pursued political officials and law enforcement representatives “abused their authority to support the cartel, exposing the victims to threats and violence,” the American indictment states.
El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
Two of his sons, former leaders of Chapitos, are also detained in the United States.
Pressure from the US
Ruben Rocha Moya, 78, was a senator in the state of Sinaloa.
His term as governor was marked by violence between Chapitos and heirs of another co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada, alias El Mayo, arrested in July 2024 and imprisoned in the United States.
The armed confrontations between these two groups resulted in hundreds of deaths and disappearances in Sinaloa.
The Sinaloa cartel is one of six Mexican drug-trafficking organizations designated as “terrorist organizations” by the Trump administration.
He is pressuring Mexico to end drug trafficking to the United States – especially fentanyl – and is threatening to impose tariffs or even crack down on drug traffickers on Mexican soil.
The Sheinbaum government has intensified its operations against drug lords in the country, such as, for example, the one that targeted the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, Nemesio Oseguera, alias El Mencho, killed in February following an army intervention.
Mexican media note that there is some unease in Washington over alleged ties between Mexican officials, mainly from the Morena Party (left), which has been in power since 2018, and organized crime.
The United States has revoked the visas of several Mexican officials, including the governor of Baja Califronia, Marina del Pilar Avila.
