NEW YORK, United States — The United States Department of Justice on Wednesday charged Rubén Rocha Moya and several other Mexican officials with drug trafficking offenses linked to the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.
According to prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, 10 individuals, including the governor of Sinaloa, are accused of helping the cartel distribute “massive quantities” of narcotics into the United States.
The indictment alleges that senior politicians and law enforcement officials abused their authority to support the cartel and shield criminal operations.
“These politicians and law enforcement officials have abused their authority in support of the cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence,” the indictment states.
Although Mexican authorities did not directly reference the indictment, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico confirmed it had received extradition requests from the United States involving “various people.”
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry criticized Washington for publicly announcing the case before confidential extradition procedures were completed under bilateral agreements. The ministry said it would issue a formal diplomatic protest to the US embassy over how the accusations were made public.
Mexican officials said the country’s attorney general would determine whether Rocha Moya and the other suspects could face extradition proceedings.
Later on Wednesday, Mexican authorities announced a domestic investigation into the allegations. Attorney General spokesperson Ulises Lara said investigators would examine whether the accusations made by US authorities had a sufficient legal basis.
Rocha Moya strongly rejected the allegations in a statement posted on X.
“I categorically and absolutely deny these charges,” the governor said, describing the case as an attack against Mexico’s ruling Morena movement, often referred to by supporters as the “Fourth Transformation.”
Rocha Moya has governed Sinaloa since 2021. The state has experienced escalating violence linked to a deadly internal conflict between rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel.
Residents in Culiacán said the accusations reflected long-standing public suspicions about links between organized crime and political power.
“This is something that, in a certain way, we saw coming,” local restaurateur Miguel Taniyama told AFP. “This explains to us a lot why the violent crime rate couldn’t be lowered.”
Another resident, Rebeca Espinoza, said the indictment appeared to confirm concerns many locals had quietly held for years.
The indictment also names other senior officials, including a Morena senator, the mayor of Culiacán, and a deputy prosecutor in the Sinaloa attorney general’s office.
US prosecutors claim most of the accused were aligned with the “Chapitos,” a faction loyal to the sons of imprisoned cartel leader Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
