The United States Justice Department has filed charges against Sinaloa state Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine other individuals, accusing them of working with the Sinaloa cartel to traffic large volumes of illegal drugs into the United States, an allegation that has triggered a political and diplomatic storm between Washington and Mexico.
According to the indictment released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the accused are said to have collaborated with cartel networks to move “massive quantities” of narcotics across the border into US territory. The case is being described as one of the most serious in recent years involving a sitting state governor in Mexico.
The Justice Department alleges that the group includes senior political figures and high-ranking law enforcement officials who used their positions of power to support cartel activities. Authorities further claim they “abused their authority in support of the cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence.”
Investigators also link most of the defendants to a faction within the Sinaloa cartel known as the “Chapitos,” associated with the sons of jailed cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Without addressing the indictment directly, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said it had received extradition requests from the United States for “various people,” but raised concern over how the allegations were made public. The ministry said such matters are usually handled privately under bilateral agreements and added that it would formally protest to the US embassy over the disclosure.
It further stated that Mexico’s attorney general’s office will decide whether Governor Rocha Moya and the other suspects will be extradited to the United States.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office later confirmed it had opened its own inquiry to determine whether “the accusation made by US authorities has legal grounds.”
Governor Rocha Moya has firmly rejected the allegations. In a statement shared on the social media platform X, he said:
“This attack isn't only against me, it's against the Fourth Transformation,”
referring to Mexico’s ruling Morena party, which has been in power since 2018.
Rocha Moya has served as governor of Sinaloa since 2021, overseeing a region that has long been affected by violence linked to internal conflicts within the Sinaloa cartel. Rivalries between factions have driven years of bloodshed, leaving thousands dead and turning parts of the state into some of the most dangerous areas in Mexico.
The indictment also names other prominent individuals, including a senator from the ruling Morena party, the municipal leader of Culiacan, and a deputy prosecutor within the state attorney general’s office. US authorities say these officials played roles in protecting drug trafficking routes and enabling cartel operations responsible for moving narcotics into the United States.
The Sinaloa cartel remains one of the most powerful criminal networks in Mexico and has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by US authorities, reflecting Washington’s tougher stance on cross-border drug trafficking groups.
In Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, reactions from residents reflected a mix of concern and resignation. Some said the accusations confirmed long-held suspicions about the relationship between politics and organised crime in the region.
A local restauranteur, Miguel Taniyama, said the situation had become “unsustainable” and suggested the indictment explained the ongoing violence in the area. Another resident, Rebeca Espinoza, said the allegations seemed to confirm what many locals had “felt and sensed” for years.
The case continues to develop, with both countries now navigating legal, political, and diplomatic tensions as investigations proceed in the United States and Mexico.