US accuses 10 current, former Mexican officials of aiding drug trafficking
Federal officials have indicted 10 current and former Mexican officials on charges tied to drug trafficking as part of a Trump administration crackdown on the international flow of narcotics.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed the indictment Wednesday. It says the governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, Rubén Rocha Moya, and nine others were allegedly involved in drug trafficking and related weapons offenses.
The officials are accused of shielding Sinaloa Cartel members from investigations, prosecutions and arrests in addition to aiding the import of “massive amounts” of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States.
In addition to the governor of Sinaloa, those indicted include 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 Culiacán, according to The Associated Press .
“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.
“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. The support of corrupt foreign officials for deadly trafficking of drugs must end,” he added.
Moya, who has served as Sinaloa’s governor since 2021, faces charges of narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count, which could result in life imprisonment or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars if he’s convicted.
He has denied wrongdoing and accused the DOJ of “slander.”
“I categorically and absolutely reject the accusations made against me by the Southern District of New York Federal Prosecutor’s Office, as they lack any truth or foundation whatsoever. And this will be demonstrated, with full force, at the appropriate time,” Moya wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“This attack is not solely against my person; but against the movement of the Fourth Transformation, its emblematic leaderships, and the Mexican women and men who represent that cause,” he added.
Moya and other indicted officials are members of Mexico’s progressive ruling party, as is Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum has pledged to work alongside President Trump to end the illegal transnational flow of narcotics.
Defendants have been accused of closely aligning themselves with the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel run by the sons of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman-Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” in reference to the Cartel’s former leader.
The cartel is now known collectively as the “Chapitos.”
Damaso Castro Saavedra, who serves as the deputy attorney general for the Sinaloa state attorney general’s office, allegedly received approximately $11,000 in U.S. dollars monthly from the Chapitos in exchange for cartel members’ protection from arrest and informed the Chapitos of planned U.S.-backed law enforcement operations.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is not just trafficking deadly drugs, it is a designated terrorist organization that relies on corruption and bribery to drive violence and profit,” said Drug Enforcement Administration head Terrance Cole.
“This indictment exposes a deliberate effort to undermine public institutions and put American lives at risk. The defendants allegedly used positions of trust to protect cartel operations, enabling a pipeline of deadly drugs into our country. No one is above the law,” he added.
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