Mexican officials charged with importing massive quantities of drugs into U.S.

Sinaloa state Gov. Ruben Rocha waves as he takes part in an annual earthquake drill in Culiacan, Mexico, Sept. 19, 2024.

NEW YORK — 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.

U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody.

Those charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Ruben Rocha Moya, who has been governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state since November 2021.

Rocha was a staunch ally of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and of his “Hugs, Not Bullets” policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with drug cartels.

Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he “categorically and completely rejects” the accusations and said they were baseless. The official called the charges 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 in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. “We will show them that this slander doesn’t have any sort of foundation.”

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

The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, known in Mexico as the Cartel de Sinaloa, which is run by the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Authorities said the defendants have played essential roles in helping the Sinaloa Cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton called the Sinaloa Cartel “a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades.”

He added: “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 indictment “exposes a deliberate effort to undermine public institutions and put American lives at risk,” said Terrance Cole, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The charged officials “used positions of trust to protect cartel operations, enabling a pipeline of deadly drugs into our country.”

Among those indicted, at least three officials --- Rocha, the governor, the mayor of Sinaloa’s capital, and a senator --- were affiliated with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unaffiliated with Mexican parties.

The charges 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,” Johnson said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying that her government has not seen “any evidence” of the charges of corruption.

“Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General’s Office,” Sheinbaum said.

U.S. prosecutors previously brought drug trafficking charges against a former Mexican cabinet member, Genaro Garcia Luna, who was accused of taking bribes to help the Sinaloa Cartel while he was supposedly combating it as his country’s public security secretary. Garcia Luna was convicted in 2023 and was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison. He denied the allegations and is appealing his conviction.

Associated Press Writer Megan Janetsky reported from Mexico City

Megan Janetsky, Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press