A federal grand jury indicted the governor of Sinaloa and different Mexican state officers with drug trafficking and weapons charges for allegedly working with cartels to carry medicine into the United States in trade for bribes and favors.
Ruben Rocha Moya, the governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa since 2021, and 9 present or former high-ranking Mexican officers had been charged in a five-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with allegedly serving to a faction of the cartel led by the Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera — also called El Chapo, the previous chief of the Sinaloa cartel till he was prosecuted within the US.
“These politicians and law enforcement officials have abused their authority in support of the Cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence, and sold out their offices in exchange for massive bribes,” in line with the indictment.
Prosecutors in New York allege Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos previous to his election in 2021 and assured them that if elected, he would put officers pleasant to their drug trafficking operations into energy. Cartel members stole poll containers and kidnapped or intimidated opponents to drop out of the race to make sure his victory, in line with the indictment.
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Rocha Moya strongly denied the allegations, writing on X, “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 went on to say, “To the people of Sinaloa, I say that, with the courage and dignity that characterize us, we will demonstrate the lack of foundation for this slander.”
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry stated it obtained extradition requests from the US authorities however stated they lack “sufficient evidence.” In an announcement, the Foreign Ministry stated, “However, as is standard procedure in these cases, the Attorney General’s Office will determine whether there is sufficient evidence under Mexican law and the viability of the requests for provisional arrest for extradition.”
US prosecutors allege the present and former Mexican officers aided the cartel in importing fentanyl, cocaine and different medicine from Mexico into the US; shielded the cartel leaders from investigation and prosecution; and allowed drug-related violence. In trade, the indictment alleges, the defendants in whole obtained hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.
Authorities allege one of the lads, Juan Valenzuela Millan, a former high-level commander within the Culiacan police division, assisted within the kidnapping of a US Drug Enforcement Administration supply and one other sufferer. They had been turned over to the cartel, which killed them, the indictment says. Millan, who led the division in Sinaloa’s largest metropolis, allegedly accepted roughly $41,000 a month in bribes he distributed to others on the police drive, and in trade, he gave the Chapitos entry to division assets, together with patrol automobiles and radios.
Damaso Castro Zaavedra, the deputy legal professional common for the Sinaloa state legal professional common’s workplace, allegedly obtained month-to-month funds of roughly $11,000 from the Chapitos for shielding them from arrests and tipping them off about deliberate US-backed operations.
After El Chapo’s arrest, the cartel splintered into two teams — the one led by the Chapitos and the opposite by Ismael Zambada Garcia, referred to as El Mayo.
US authorities beforehand charged the Chapitos. Two had been extradited to the US and pleaded guilty. The different two brothers stay at giant in Mexico. Zambada was additionally charged and dropped at the US in 2024 to face charges. He additionally pleaded responsible.
Zambada beforehand accused Rocha Moya of being concerned in an alleged assembly that led to his seize. Rocha Moya on the time denied any involvement, saying, “There is absolutely nothing, nothing, that can link me to that matter, nothing. I say this categorically, emphatically. Nothing.”