Federal prosecutors in New York announced drug trafficking and weapons charges against ten Mexican government officials Wednesday, alleging they facilitated the smuggling of dangerous narcotics into the United States on behalf of a major cartel.
The indictment, revealed in Manhattan federal court, targets current and former officials from Mexico’s Sinaloa state, with the most prominent defendant being Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, who has held office since November 2021.
Rocha previously supported former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “Hugs, Not Bullets” approach, a strategy that emphasized avoiding direct military confrontations with drug trafficking organizations.
The governor issued a strong denial of the allegations, stating he “categorically and completely rejects” the accusations and describing them as unfounded. Rocha characterized the charges as an “attack” targeting Mexico’s governing party and its leadership.
“It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico’s) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty,” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. “We will show them that this slander doesn’t have any sort of foundation.”
According to the federal indictment, several of the accused officials allegedly took part in the Sinaloa Cartel’s violent operations and retaliation campaigns.
The charging documents claim the defendants worked closely with a wing of the Sinaloa Cartel controlled by the children of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former cartel boss currently serving life imprisonment in an American facility.
Federal authorities say these officials provided crucial assistance to help the Sinaloa Cartel transport fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine across the border from Mexico. The United States has classified the Sinaloa Cartel as one of eight Latin American criminal enterprises designated as terrorist organizations.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described the Sinaloa Cartel as “a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades.”
He added: “As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll.”
Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terrance Cole said the indictment “exposes a deliberate effort to undermine public institutions and put American lives at risk.” The charged officials “used positions of trust to protect cartel operations, enabling a pipeline of deadly drugs into our country.”
The defendants include at least three officials connected to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party: Governor Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa’s capital city, and a senator. Several other charged officials held non-partisan government positions.
These charges follow remarks last week from U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, who announced plans for an anti-corruption initiative targeting Mexican officials allegedly connected to organized crime networks.
“Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend. It is not a problem without victims,” Johnson said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded Monday by stating her administration has not received “any evidence” supporting the corruption allegations.
“Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General’s Office,” Sheinbaum said.
This case follows the 2023 conviction of former Mexican cabinet official Genaro García Luna, who was found guilty of accepting bribes to assist the Sinaloa Cartel while serving as the country’s public security secretary. García Luna received a sentence exceeding 38 years in prison, though he maintains his innocence and is pursuing an appeal.
None of the newly charged defendants are currently in custody, according to federal officials.
