Mexican governor, other officials charged with conspiring with Sinaloa Cartel to smuggle drugs into U.S.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Wednesday charged several current and former Mexican government officials with conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel to import large amounts of drugs into the United States in exchange for bribes and political support.

Prosecutors indicted the current governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, and nine other high-ranking government and law enforcement figures on multiple drug-trafficking and related weapons offenses. Their cooperation with the cartel also allowed cartel members to carry out “brutal drug-related violence” with impunity, prosecutors alleged.

“In exchange, the defendants have collectively received millions of dollars in drug money from the Cartel,” prosecutors said.

The government claimed the defendants worked closely with one faction of the cartel, the “Chapitos,” which is led by the sons of notorious former leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Since Guzman was extradited to the United States in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison following his subsequent drug conspiracy conviction, the “Chapitos” and the defendants have “perpetuated a narcotics-fueled cycle of corruption,” according to the wide-ranging indictment.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement announcing the charges. “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.”

Clayton also praised the Mexican government for its assistance in the investigation.

The “Chapitos” helped Rocha Moya, who has held the office of governor since November 2021, get elected by stealing ballots, as well as kidnapping and intimidating opponents, the document said.

Before and after Rocha Moya was elected governor, federal prosecutors said, he attended multiple meetings with the organization in which he pledged to support the drug trafficking operation and to allow it to “operate with impunity in Sinaloa.”

Those meetings, according to the indictment, were guarded by individuals armed with machine guns.

The governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but in a post on X, he said he “categorically and absolutely” denies the accusations leveled against him.

“To the people of Sinaloa, I say, with the bravery and the dignity that characterize us, we will demonstrate the lack of substance of this slander,” Rocha Moya wrote.

Rocha Moya framed the indictment as an attack on the “Fourth Transformation” — a term coined by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to describe his political movement — and its leaders and supporters.

Rocha Moya is a member of the MORENA party that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador’s successor and ally, also belongs to.

Sheinbaum did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The defendants “shielded cartel leaders” from prosecution and directed state and local law enforcement agencies to “protect drug loads stored in and transiting through Mexico to the United States,” according to court documents.

In one instance in May 2022, federal prosecutors said, the cartel attempted to traffic approximately 189,000 fentanyl pills, two kilograms of fentanyl powder, half a kilogram of cocaine and 15 pounds of methamphetamine into the U.S.

The massive quantity was later seized by law enforcement in Phoenix, Arizona, they said.

One law enforcement official allegedly received $11,000 a month from the “Chapitos.” In return, the official prevented cartel members from being arrested and informed them of planned U.S.-backed law enforcement operations, prosecutors said.

A high-level police commander also allegedly accepted $41,000 in monthly bribes that was distributed among himself and other officers. In exchange, prosecutors alleged, the cartel had “full access to the intelligence, operations, and resources” of the department, including its police patrol cars and radios.

The government said the defendants, all of whom are believed to currently reside in Mexico, face up to a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

In a statement, Mexico’s Office of Foreign affairs said it received an extradition request from the U.S. for various individuals. It said the Attorney General’s Office will determine if there is enough proof to detain them for extradition purposes.

Clayton said Wednesday’s indictment should signal that officials who cooperate with drug traffickers are not immune to justice.

“Let these charges send a clear message to all officials around the globe who work with narco-traffickers: no matter your title or position, we are committed to bringing you to justice,” he said.