NEW YORK, NY — The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan, accused of helping the Sinaloa cartel import massive quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States.
The charges against Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, and his co-defendants represent one of the most significant corruption cases targeting high-level Mexican officials in recent years. Federal prosecutors allege the defendants collectively received millions of dollars in drug money from Los Chapitos, the faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of imprisoned kingpin JoaquÃn “El Chapo” Guzmán. None of the defendants were in U.S. custody as of Wednesday, though Mexico’s government confirmed it had received multiple extradition requests from American authorities without specifying how it would respond.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced the charges in a news release, calling the Sinaloa cartel “a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades.” He added that the cartel “would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll.” The indictment alleges that Rocha, who has served as Sinaloa’s governor since November 2021, faces charges including narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.
According to the federal indictment, the defendants played critical roles in protecting cartel operations by shielding leaders from investigation and prosecution, feeding the organization sensitive law enforcement and military information, and directing state and local police to protect drug shipments. The charges also name a Mexican senator, a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police, and the mayor of Culiacán. One defendant, Juan Valenzuela Millan, a high-level commander in the Culiacán Municipal Police, allegedly received more than $1,600 monthly from Los Chapitos in exchange for using his department to carry out arrests, kidnappings and murders. In October 2023, prosecutors say Millan helped the cartel faction kidnap a DEA confidential source and the source’s relative, who was subsequently tortured and killed.
The timing of the indictment creates significant political complications for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, as at least three of the charged officials — including Rocha — belong to her progressive ruling party, Morena. Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and enthusiastically supported the ex-president’s “Hugs, Not Bullets” policy of avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. The governor was previously embroiled in scandal in 2024 when his name appeared in a letter written by a kidnapped Sinaloa cartel leader who said he believed he was on his way to meet with Rocha when he was abducted. The cartel’s warring factions have since ravaged the northern Mexican state in their struggle for territorial control.
This marks the second time in recent years that the United States has brought drug trafficking charges against high-ranking Mexican officials. Genaro GarcÃa Luna, a former Mexican public security secretary under President Felipe Calderón, was convicted by a U.S. court and sentenced to 38 years in prison after being accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. The current charges come after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson announced last week that the administration would launch an anti-corruption campaign targeting Mexican officials linked to organized crime. “Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it,” Johnson said in a statement Wednesday. “Combating corruption and transnational criminal activity is a shared priority for the United States and Mexico.” The Sinaloa cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
Rocha vigorously denied the allegations in a post on social media platform X Wednesday afternoon, calling the charges “categorically and completely” baseless and describing them as an “attack” on Mexico’s ruling party and its leaders. “It is part of a perverse strategy to violate Mexico’s constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty,” he wrote. Later in the day, he told reporters that he planned to remain in Sinaloa and wasn’t worried about the charges. Some of the politicians named in the indictment echoed Rocha’s claims, characterizing the charges as a political attack on their party. President Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying her government had not seen “any evidence” of corruption charges and insisted that “any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.”
The indictment places Sheinbaum in a difficult political position as she seeks to balance mounting pressure from the Trump administration while maintaining domestic support ahead of Mexico’s midterm elections next year. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution who specializes in organized crime, noted that if Sheinbaum doesn’t pursue Rocha, it could strain relations with the U.S. ahead of crucial free-trade agreement renegotiations. However, if she does move to arrest him for potential extradition, “it carries tremendous consequences for her politically,” Felbab-Brown said. Sheinbaum’s government has already detained several local officials across Mexico in an ongoing crackdown against cartels, fueled by pressure from the Trump administration.
