10 current and former Mexican officials accused in US indictment of aiding drug trafficking

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States.

Some officials were members of Mexico’s progressive ruling party, Morena, posing a political conundrum for as from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called the indictment a political attack on their party.

U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody, but Mexico’s government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple extradition requests from the U.S. without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.

Morena party members indicted

The 10 people charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rub茅n Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state since November 2021.

Charges against Moya included narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.

Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum’s mentor, former . The governor enthusiastically backed the ex-president’s 鈥淗ugs, Not Bullets鈥� policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. L贸pez Obrador built a political platform by railing against endemic corruption plaguing Mexican politics.

Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he 鈥渃ategorically and completely rejects鈥� the accusations as baseless and called them an 鈥渁ttack鈥� on Mexico鈥檚 ruling party and its leaders.

鈥淚t is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico鈥檚) constitutional order, specifically on 鈥� he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. 鈥淲e will show them that this slander doesn鈥檛 have any sort of foundation.鈥�

Later in the day, he told reporters that he planned to stay in Sinaloa and wasn鈥檛 worried.

Ties to Sinaloa Cartel

Some of those named, according to the indictment, have themselves participated in the Sinaloa Cartel’s campaign of violence and retribution.

Those charged included a Mexican senator, a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police and the mayor of Culiacan.

According to the indictment, the defendants shielded cartel leaders from investigation, arrest, and prosecution, fed the cartel with sensitive law enforcement and military information, directed members of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect drug loads and let the cartel commit brutal drug-related violence without consequence. In return, it said, the defendants received millions of dollars in drug money.

The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as 鈥淟os Chapitos,鈥� which is run by the sons of , the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Authorities said the defendants played critical roles in helping the cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as by the U.S. government.

鈥淎s 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,鈥� U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a release.

The indictment of Rocha, who was born in the same town as 鈥淓l Chapo,鈥� was particularly notable because the governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2024 involving the Sinaloa Cartel. His name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa Cartel capo of a rival faction of the cartel and in the U.S. In the letter, the capo said that when he was kidnapped he believed he was on his way to meet with Rocha.

In the years since, the cartel’s two warring factions have ravaged the northern Mexican state in their struggle for territorial control.

Among those indicted, at least three officials 鈥� Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa鈥檚 capital, and a senator 鈥� were affiliated with Sheinbaum鈥檚 party, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unaffiliated with Mexican parties.

It’s not the first time the U.S. has brought drug trafficking charges against ranking Mexican officials. Genaro Garc铆a Luna 鈥� a former Mexican public security secretary under former President Felipe Calder贸n 鈥� was convicted by a U.S. court and sentenced to 38 years in prison after he was accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. He denied the allegations and is appealing his conviction.

Another balancing act for Sheinbaum

The indictment unsealed Wednesday come after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson last week said that the U.S. administration would launch an anti-corruption campaign targeting Mexican officials he said were linked to organized crime.

“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,鈥� Johnson said.

Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying her government has not seen 鈥渁ny evidence鈥� of the charges of corruption.

鈥淎ny investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General鈥檚 Office,鈥� Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum鈥檚 government has already detained several local officials across Mexico in its ongoing crackdown against the cartels, fueled by pressure by the Trump administration.

The indictment has once again forced the Mexican leader to walk a political tightrope, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution who specializes in organized crime.

If Sheinbaum doesn鈥檛 go after Rocha, it will put strain on relations with the U.S. ahead of renegotiations of a free-trade agreement with the U.S. crucial to the Mexican economy, the analyst said. If she does arrest him, 鈥渋t carries tremendous consequences for her politically鈥� ahead of next year鈥檚 midterm elections in Mexico.

鈥淚s she going to move to arrest Gov. Rocha and the other eight indicted politicians and attempt to extradite him to the United States? This is certainly what the United States wants,鈥� Felbab-Brown said.

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This story has been corrected to show the scandal that embroiled Rocha was in 2024, not 2023.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Mar铆a Verza and Fabiola S谩nchez in Mexico City and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed.