US charges governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state and 9 others with drug trafficking and weapons charges

By Kara Scannell, Michael Rios, CNN

(CNN) — A federal grand jury indicted the governor of Sinaloa and other Mexican state officials with drug trafficking and weapons charges for allegedly working with cartels to bring drugs into the United States in exchange for bribes and favors.

Ruben Rocha Moya, the governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa since 2021, and nine current or former high-ranking Mexican officials were charged in a five-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with allegedly helping a faction of the cartel led by the Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera — also known as El Chapo, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel until he was prosecuted in 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,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors in New York allege Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos prior to his election in 2021 and assured them that if elected, he would put officials friendly to their drug trafficking operations into power. Cartel members stole ballot boxes and kidnapped or intimidated opponents to drop out of the race to ensure his victory, according to the indictment.

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 said it received extradition requests from the US government but said they lack “sufficient evidence.” In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said, “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 current and former Mexican officials aided the cartel in importing fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs from Mexico into the US; shielded the cartel leaders from investigation and prosecution; and allowed drug-related violence. In exchange, the indictment alleges, the defendants in total received millions of dollars.

Authorities allege one of the men, Juan Valenzuela Millan, a former high-level commander in the Culiacan police department, assisted in the kidnapping of a US Drug Enforcement Administration source and another victim. They were turned over to the cartel, which killed them, the indictment says. Millan, who led the department in Sinaloa’s largest city, allegedly accepted approximately $41,000 a month in bribes he distributed to others on the police force, and in exchange, he gave the Chapitos access to department resources, including patrol cars and radios.

Damaso Castro Zaavedra, the deputy attorney general for the Sinaloa state attorney general’s office, allegedly received monthly payments of approximately $11,000 from the Chapitos for protecting them from arrests and tipping them off about planned US-backed operations.

After El Chapo’s arrest, the cartel splintered into two groups — the one led by the Chapitos and the other by Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as El Mayo.

US authorities previously charged the Chapitos. Two were extradited to the US and pleaded guilty. The other two brothers remain at large in Mexico. Zambada was also charged and brought to the US in 2024 to face charges. He also pleaded guilty.

Zambada previously accused Rocha Moya of being involved in an alleged meeting that led to his capture. Rocha Moya at 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.”

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