New York — The governor of Sinaloa state and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons crimes in a US indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York.
The charges were announced in a press release by federal officials. None of the defendants were in custody.
The defendants in court papers unsealed in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa.
Authorities said Sinaloa Gov. Ruben Rocha and others played key roles in helping the Sinaloa drug cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States.
FILE – Sinaloa state Governor Ruben Rocha waves as he participates in an annual earthquake drill in Culiacán, Mexico, September 19, 2024.
(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
US Attorney Jay Clayton called the Sinaloa Cartel “a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades.”
“At the time the indictment emerges, the Sinaloa cartel and other drug trafficking organizations like it will not operate freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payrolls,” he added.
As of now, no one is in US custody.
The defendants allegedly received millions of dollars in drug money from the cartel faction run by Chapito, the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, according to the indictment.
Another defendant, Juan Valenzuela Millan, a high-ranking commander in the Culiacán municipal police, received more than $1,600 a month from the Chapitos family in exchange for using the Culiacan municipal police to carry out arrests, kidnappings and murders, the indictment said.
In October 2023, Milan allegedly helped the Chapitos kidnap a confidential DEA source and the source’s relative, who was then tortured and killed.
“Combatting corruption and transnational criminal activities is a shared priority for the United States and Mexico,” US Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson said in a statement. “Our countries have pledged to strengthen transparency, enforce anti-corruption laws, and uphold the rule of law. This is what our citizens on both sides of the border want, and as I have said time and time again, this is what they deserve.”
ABC News contributed to this report.
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