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The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Governor of Sinaloa, Mexico, Ruben Rocha Moya, and nine other high-ranking Mexican officials on drug trafficking and weapons charges this week, alleging they formed a political and police protection network for a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The indictment by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York alleges that the governor and the nine other current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa shielded “Los Chapitos,” a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, from investigation, arrest and prosecution. “In exchange, the defendants have collectively received millions of dollars in drug money from the Cartel,” said the indictment, which has been obtained by OCCRP.
After the indictment was announced in a press release Wednesday, Moya used social media to deny the charges. That same day, the Mexican foreign ministry and attorney general’s office issued statements saying a U.S. request for his provisional arrest lacked sufficient evidence.
“I categorically and absolutely reject the accusations made against me by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, as they lack any truth or foundation. And this will be demonstrated conclusively at the appropriate time,” he wrote on X.
In a press statement, the Attorney General's Office of Mexico said it had received a U.S. government request for provisional arrest for extradition of Moya and the 9 other officials but it was “not accompanied by sufficient evidentiary elements that provide conclusive evidence regarding the narrated facts.”
It added that it “will initiate an investigation to gather all the necessary information to determine if there is evidence to establish the probability that the accusation made by the U.S. authorities has the legal basis to request arrest warrants.”
Javier Oliva Posada, a national security expert, told OCCRP that according to the extradition treaty between the two countries, the U.S. government has 60 days to present Mexico with its evidence against the governor of Sinaloa.
“So far, it's just an accusation. The important question here will be: How substantial is the accusation? How well-founded is it?” Posada said.
The U.S. indictment alleges the 10 officials engaged in a partnership with the cartel facilitated the importation of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the U.S., and in the case of a municipal official from Culiacán, the kidnapping and murder of a confidential U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration source and his family members.
The other charges against the ten men are related to the possession of machine guns and destructive devices, as well as conspiracy to possess these weapons. The indictment describes hitmen armed with machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, AK-47s, AR-15s, and other weapons, in addition to meetings protected by armed men.
Investigations have been previously launched against former Mexican governors for alleged connections to organized crime after they had left office, but this is the first time a sitting governor has been indicted.
Posada and other experts interviewed by OCCRP said the indictment represents a significant challenge for President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government amid the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact that is up for renewal in July.
David Saucedo, a security consultant, asserts that this situation is unprecedented but was expected, as the U.S. had warned Sheinbaum that it would pursue alleged “narco-politicians.”
“So, what comes next? Well, Governor Rocha Moya would have to lose his immunity. He cannot be subject to any criminal proceedings because he is the governor,” Saucedo said.
