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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum questioned the United States’ accusations against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha. agreed and the Sinaloa drug cartel after U.S. prosecutors charged him with organized crime.
“My thoughts on this situation are: truth, justice and security of authority,” Sheinbaum said Thursday. He also said that US claims are not credible unless they are supported by real evidence.
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“If the Office of the Attorney General, which has the power, receives clear and indisputable evidence under Mexican law or if its investigation finds that there are violations of the law, it must be done in accordance with the laws that we control,” he added.
He stressed that any wrongdoing will be dealt with if proven.
“We do not defend anyone who has committed a crime; but in the absence of clear evidence, it is clear that the motives of the Department of Justice in the United States are political,” he added.
The comments came as US prosecutors released an indictment in New York charging Rocha and nine current and former officials with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel in a case that could strain relations between the two neighbors.
Related to the cartel
Prosecutors accused the group of working with cartel leaders to move drugs into the US for political support and bribery.
They said the alleged links to Rocha’s 2021 campaign where members of the “Chapitos” cartel are accused of complicity in the election rigging, including the theft of ballots and ballot boxes, extortion and intimidation of opponents.
US officials say many of those charged are sons of jailed cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and that authorities used their positions to protect the gang’s operations.
The case comes amid a major crackdown by the US on the Sinaloa Cartel officials, including members of the “Chapitos” group. Authorities arrested important people, such as Ovidio Guzman, who was captured by the Mexican military in 2023 and later extradited to the US, while Joaquin. Guzman Lopez they are also in US custody. Former cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambadawho for many years evaded capture, was captured by the US in 2024.
Rocha has denied the claims, calling them baseless and political, and has said that he has refuted them and shown that they have no basis.
“This attack is not against me personally, but against the Fourth Transformation movement, its symbolic leaders, and the Mexican people who represent that cause,” he said in a statement. The fourth amendment is the policies implemented by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that affect the development of the country.
Translation: I categorically deny the allegations against me by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as they have no truth and no basis. This will be shown, no doubt, in due course.
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Rocha Moya, a long-time resident of Morena and a former senator, won the governorship of Sinaloa in 2021 and joined forces with Lopez Obrador.
Investigators said the situation in the next few days is very serious.
“What the Sheinbaum administration will do is a big thing to watch in the coming days,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a policy analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, DC.
He added that if the accused officials are sent to the US, it would give the US authorities a clear picture of the alleged corruption in the government by Morena’s party.
“It is possible that the interrogation in the US and the complaint against Ovidio and Joaquin Guzman and that El Mayo may have given sufficient evidence in these cases,” he added.
The case comes as the Mexican government has stepped up its fight against powerful drug cartels, carrying out a series of operations that have focused on organized crime in recent months, including the killing of Nemesio soldiers.“El Mencho” Oseguerawho led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
