A grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has indicted 10 current and former Mexican officials for importing large amounts of drugs into the US, along with related offenses. The officials include the current governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, and a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police, and a senator.

The indictment accuses the officials of connections to the Sinaloa Cartel. US Attorney Jay Clayton said, “The Sinaloa Cartel is a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades … (which) would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll.” The indictment says that law enforcement officials in Phoenix, Arizona, seized a cartel shipment of approximately 189,000 fentanyl pills, two kilograms of fentanyl powder, half a kilogram of cocaine, and 15 pounds of methamphetamine in May 2022.

The indictment accuses the officials of ties to one faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, “Los Chapitos,” which is run by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Guzmán is serving life in prison in the US. The specific charges include narcotics importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess them, kidnapping to result in death, and conspiracy to kidnap. The indictment demands the forfeiture to the US of all assets gained through the alleged crimes.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said:

We will not cover up for anyone who has committed a crime. However, if there is no clear evidence, it is evident that the objective of these charges by the Department of Justice is political. … We will not allow any foreign government to … decide the future of the Mexican people.

The Foreign Relations Secretariat responded to the indictment in a statement on X, which said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received requests for provisional arrest for extradition purposes, which will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office. No evidence is attached to the documents.”

Rocha Moya denied the allegations against him in a post on X, adding, “It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico’s) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty.”