Overview
- Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed the five-count case Wednesday, charging Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine current or former Sinaloa officials with drug trafficking and weapons offenses.
- The indictment says the officials worked with the Chapitos, the sons of “El Chapo,” to move fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and meth into the U.S. in exchange for bribes and political support.
- Prosecutors allege the Chapitos helped Rocha Moya win the 2021 governorship by kidnapping and intimidating rivals, and that he later promised protection so the faction could operate with impunity.
- Counts include a narcotics importation conspiracy and machine gun offenses, and one ex–Culiacán police commander is also charged with kidnapping a DEA source that led to a killing, with penalties up to life in prison.
- None of the defendants are in U.S. custody as Mexico reviews extradition requests it says lack sufficient proof, and authorities there have opened a parallel inquiry that adds political pressure for President Claudia Sheinbaum and her Morena party.