Mexican media speak of “a huge American blow against narcopolitics in Mexico.” The indictment was filed by the US Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the drug agency DEA published on Tuesdayis straining U.S.-Mexico relations. It also causes a crisis within the Mexican government and gets President Claudia Sheinbaum into trouble.
Nine (former) politicians and (former) police officers from the northwestern state of Sinaloa are accused in the indictment of close ties with the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world. Among them are the current governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, Senator Enrique Inzunza and Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil, the mayor of Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa. They are all members of Morena, President Sheinbaum’s ruling party.
The charges against the officials are not mild. Almost all of them are accused of possessing heavy weapons and working with the cartel to smuggle drugs into the US. These are crimes that carry a minimum sentence of forty years in the US, although it is expressly stated that Mexicans can also get life in prison. The US has now requested the arrest and extradition of all ‘suspects’.
Collaboration with cartel
The DEA investigation on which the indictment is based describes how officials worked closely with Los Chapitos, the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and who has been in prison there since his extradition to the US in 2017. In exchange for large amounts of money, they allegedly ensured that this faction could operate unhindered in Sinaloa and thus smuggle tons of drugs to the US.
Governor Rubén Rocha is said to have received no money, but came to power in 2021 thanks to Los Chapitos. For example, during the elections he is said to have met leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, who then kidnapped and intimidated opposition candidates and stole ballot boxes to ensure that Rocha would win. The governor then left the criminal organization alone in Sinaloa.
Rocha is a prominent member of Morena and one of the highest-ranking Mexican politicians ever indicted by the US. He writes on platform X to “categorically and absolutely” reject the allegations. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Mexican government of President Claudia Sheinbaum said supporting evidence for the charges was lacking and that they would review the document.
However, the indictment puts Sheinbaum in a difficult position. Since she took office, her foreign policy has mainly been focused on keeping President Trump satisfied on security matters. She tried to do this by sending thousands of soldiers to Sinaloa, among other places, by extraditing dozens of high-ranking cartel members and by eliminating cartel boss ‘El Mencho’.
But if the US provides evidence, the Mexican president may have to extradite a prominent member of her own party. And that presents her with a huge dilemma.
Political heavyweights
The American evidence probably comes from the deals that two imprisoned sons of El Chapo made with the American justice system to avoid life sentences. In the meantime, Sheinbaum must keep her political party Morena in check, especially the political heavyweights behind Rocha. Rocha is a political ally of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, founder of Morena, who still has a lot of power in the background.
In Mexico, the comparison is with Salvador Cienfuegos, former defense minister, who was arrested in the US during López Obrador’s term for alleged ties to drug cartels. He was released under pressure from the Mexican government at the time, with the promise that he would be prosecuted in Mexico. That did not happen, causing a major dent in security cooperation between the two countries.
It is precisely this cooperation that Sheinbaum has tried to improve, by showing himself as a reliable partner of the US. Just this week, the Mexican army arrested one of the high-ranking commanders of the rival and equally powerful Jalisco Cartel, about two months after Jalisco Cartel founder El Mencho was eliminated in a military operation.
A National Guard officer patrols the scene after a deadly attack in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state, where drug violence takes place.
Photo Marco Ugarte / AP
Vulnerable relationship with US
Mexico, however, has to deal with Trump’s renewal War on Drugs fueled by his so-called Donroe Doctrine, which prescribes that Latin America falls under the sphere of influence of the US. That makes anything possible, even if the relationship with the White House seems good. The threat of military intervention always looms over us. Earlier this month, relations between the two countries suffered a blow when it emerged that CIA agents were active in the north of the country without the permission of the Mexican government.
Until now, the focus has mainly been on cartel bosses, on big names who were extradited to the US so that Trump could show off. Extraditing Mexican politicians is a different matter: it could damage Sheinbaum’s popularity. She always insists on sovereignty. It may also be at the expense of support within her party.
Still, the US action cannot come as a surprise to Mexico. American authorities have long hinted at a tougher approach to Mexican politicians involved in drug trafficking. Last year, US visas of dozens of politicians were revoked. Sheinbaum then chose to say as little about it as possible. She emphasized that cooperation with the US was good. The new indictment has made it clear more than once that the US has a completely different idea of what cooperation between the countries should look like.
