MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has charged the governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, Ruben Rocha, and other current and former officials for their alleged involvement with the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Justice Department said Rocha and the others allegedly conspired with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to import massive quantities of narcotics into the U.S. in exchange for political support and bribes.
Rocha’s office said it had not yet been notified of the accusations and did not have further information.
According to the Justice Department, Rocha was elected as governor of Sinaloa in 2021 with the help of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel run by the sons of founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, known as “Los Chapitos.”
The Chapitos allegedly kidnapped and intimidated his rivals, the Justice Department said, in exchange for Rocha’s promise to allow the group to operate with impunity and distribute drugs to the U.S.
“Corruption that enables organized crime and harms both our countries will be investigated and prosecuted wherever U.S. jurisdiction applies,” the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said in a separate statement after the indictment was announced.
Ambassador Ronald Johnson last week promised action on combatting corruption in Mexico.
The others charged include current and former state-level officials as well as the mayor and an ex-police commander for Culiacan, the state capital which has been plagued by drug violence.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City and Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and Natalia Siniawski in Mexico City; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)
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