The federal prosecutor's office in New York on Wednesday charged the governor of Sinaloa with drug trafficking, in a rare indictment of a high-ranking sitting Mexican official for alleged ties to organized crime.

Ruben Rocha Moya, a member of the Morena party in power in Mexico, has governed Sinaloa (northwest) since 2021.

During his term, this state was shaken by violent clashes between factions of the cartel of the same name.

The prosecution accuses Mr. Rocha Moya and nine other current or former Mexican officials of having associated with the Sinaloa cartel "to distribute massive quantities of narcotics in the United States".

Among them are Senator Enrique Inzunza of Morena, Juan de Dios Gamez, the elected official in charge of Culiacan (capital of Sinaloa), the Deputy Attorney General of the State, Damaso Castro, and the local Minister of Administration and Finance, Enrique Diaz Vega.

Mr. Rocha Moya dismissed accusations against X as "devoid of any truth and any basis".

"This attack is not only aimed at me personally, but also at the 'Fourth Transformation' movement," he stated, referring to the party of Mexican left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The shadow of "El Chapo"

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would protest to Washington. The treaties in force between the two countries "provide for the confidentiality of information, which is why a note of protest will be sent to the United States Embassy due to the manner in which this information was made public," it stated in a press release.

Without explicitly mentioning the governor of Sinaloa, Mexican diplomats indicated that the U.S. government had submitted extradition requests targeting "several people." These documents, they stated, "do not contain any evidence to establish responsibility."

In the evening, the Mexican Attorney General's office announced the opening of an investigation into the individuals involved, intended to "determine whether there is evidence to establish that the accusation made by the American authorities has legal grounds," according to a spokesman, Ulises Lara.

The New York prosecutor's office claims that the faction of Joaquin Guzman's (aka "El Chapo") sons within the Sinaloa cartel, known as the "Chapitos", helped Rocha Moya get elected governor.

"In exchange, both before and after becoming governor, Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos, to whom he promised protection while they distributed massive quantities of drugs in the United States."

The political leaders and law enforcement officials being prosecuted "abused their authority to support the cartel, exposing victims to threats and violence," according to the U.S. indictment.

Hundreds dead

"El Chapo" is currently serving a life sentence in the United States. Two of his sons, former leaders of the "Chapitos," are also imprisoned in that country.

Ruben Rocha Moya, 76, was a senator from the state of Sinaloa. His term as governor was marked by violence between the "Chapitos" and the heirs of the other co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael Zambada, alias "El Mayo," who was arrested in July 2024 and imprisoned in the United States. The clash 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.

The Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to stop drug trafficking into its territory, particularly fentanyl, and is threatening to impose tariffs as a sanction or to use its troops to hunt down drug traffickers on Mexican territory.

In response, the Sheinbaum government increased seizures and intensified operations against drug lords in the country, such as Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho", who died in February following an army intervention.

The Mexican press points out that there is some unease in Washington because of the alleged links between Mexican political figures, mainly from the left-wing Morena party in power since 2018, and organized crime.

The United States has revoked the visas of several Mexican political figures, including the governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Avila.

AFP