Mexican officials hit with drug charges in US

(AP):

The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offences in a US indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States.

Some officials were members of Mexico's ruling party, posing a political conundrum for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as she seeks to offset mounting pressures from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called the indictment a political attack on their party. US federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody, but Mexico's government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple extradition requests from the US without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.

The 10 people charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Ruben Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state since November 2021. Charges against Moya included narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.

Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum's mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The governor enthusiastically backed the ex-president's 'Hugs, Not Bullets' policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with the powerful drug cartels. Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he "categorically and completely rejects" the accusations, calling them baseless. The official called the charges an "attack" on Mexico's ruling party and its leaders.

"It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico's) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty, " he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. "We will show them that this slander doesn't have any sort of foundation."

Some of those named, 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 known as 'Los Chapitos', which is run by the sons of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a US prison.