U.S. Formally Indicts Sitting Sinaloa Governor Rocha Moya and Nine Officials

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a formal indictment on April 29, 2026 against sitting Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine current and former state officials — including Senator Enrique Inzunza Cázarez, former finance secretary Enrique Díaz Vega, deputy attorney general Dámaso Castro Zaavedra, and former investigative police chiefs Marco Antonio Almanza Avilés and Alberto Jorge Contreras Núñez ('Cholo'). Prosecutors alleged the group facilitated Los Chapitos' fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking into the U.S. in exchange for bribes and political protection, and claimed Rocha Moya's 2021 gubernatorial election was itself driven by Sinaloa Cartel intimidation of rival candidates. It was among the highest-ranking Mexican officials — a sitting state governor — ever charged by the U.S. in connection with cartel corruption. Rocha Moya denied the charges as lacking any basis.