Overview
- Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed the case Wednesday, charging Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other current or former officials with helping the Sinaloa cartel move large drug shipments into the United States.
- The indictment alleges the “Chapitos,” sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, aided Rocha’s 2021 election and received promises of protection before and after he took office.
- Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said it will file a formal protest over how the case was publicized and argued recent U.S. extradition requests lack evidence to prove responsibility.
- Rocha denied the allegations on X, calling them baseless and portraying them as an attack on his political movement.
- The charges also name a senator, Culiacán’s mayor, the state vice prosecutor, and the Sinaloa finance chief, highlighting a probe that reaches across political and law-enforcement ranks.