Bogota, Colombia – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called on U.S. authorities to provide evidence of alleged ties to drug cartels by several senior politicians.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted eight current and former government officials, including Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha and Senator Enrique Inzunza, on drug trafficking and weapons crimes charges.
Sheinbaum said that without evidence, the charges would be treated as politically motivated and mark the latest flashpoint in the strained relationship between the two neighboring countries.
“In the absence of clear evidence, it is clear that the Justice Department’s purpose in prosecuting is political,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference this morning.
Her statement came a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced indictments against 10 officials from Sinaloa.
In addition to the governor and senators, law enforcement officials also indicted Sinaloa’s deputy attorney general, a former police official and the current mayor of the state capital, Culiacan.
“These politicians and law enforcement officials abused their power to support the cartel, subjecting and exposing victims to intimidation and violence, and selling off their offices in exchange for large bribes,” the indictment reads.
Rocha is charged with conspiracy to import drugs and criminal possession of a weapon, and faces a minimum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
In the indictment, authorities accused the governor of receiving help from Sinaloa cartel forces in his 2021 election campaign.
They claimed that “Los Chapitos,” a group run by the sons of imprisoned king Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, kidnapped and threatened Rocha’s political rivals in exchange for guaranteed punishment.
However, Rocha denied the allegations, writing in X that they “lack any truth or basis.”
Both the governor and Senator Insunja are members of Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party and are threatening to embarrass the president as he leads a crackdown on organized crime.
Last February, authorities, with support from U.S. intelligence agencies, killed El Mencho, the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Last week, they eliminated “El Jardinero”, their successor candidate to lead the CJNG.
The Mexican government’s offensive comes amid pressure from the United States to deliver results on drug trafficking as President Donald Trump’s administration shows renewed interest in combating organized crime in the hemisphere.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to stop the distribution of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, which has caused an estimated 80,000 overdose deaths in the United States by 2024.
In addition to pressuring regional governments to take stronger action against organized crime, Washington oversaw a campaign of boat bombings in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to combat drug trafficking.
But drug experts say the use of military force during the decades-long US war on drugs has failed to stop the illegal drug trade.
Featured Image Description: Photo of Claudia Sheinbaum at her desk, April 30, 2026.
Featured image credit: @Claudiashein via X.
