Sinaloa state Gov. Ruben Rocha, other Mexican officials charged with importing massive quantities of drugs into US

NEW YORK — The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York.

The charges were announced in a news release by federal officials. 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.

Authorities said Sinaloa state Gov. Ruben Rocha and other played essential roles in helping the Sinaloa drug cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton called the Sinaloa cartel “a ruthless criminal organization that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades.”

He added: “As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll.”

So far, nobody is in U.S. custody.

The defendants allegedly collectively received millions of dollars in drug money from the faction of the cartel run by the Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, according to the indictment.

The indictment said another defendant, Juan Valenzuela Millan, a high-level commander in the Culiacan Municipal Police, received more than $1,600 every month from the Chapitos in exchange for using the Culiacan Municipal Police to carry out arrests, kidnapings and murder.

In October 2023, Millan allegedly helped the Chapitos kidnap a DEA confidential source and the source’s relative, who was then tortured and killed.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson said in a statement: “Combating corruption and transnational criminal activity is a shared priority for the United States and Mexico. 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 repeatedly, this is what they deserve.”

News contributed to this report.