The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offences in an indictment unsealed on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States.
U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody.
Those charged in court papers unsealed in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rubén Rocha Moya, who has been governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state since November 2021.
Some of them, according to the indictment, have themselves participated in the Sinaloa cartel's campaign of violence and retribution.
The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, the former cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
