US prosecutors unseal indictment charging Ruben Rocha and nine others over alleged Sinaloa cartel links.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has cast doubt on accusations by the United States that Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha collaborated with the Sinaloa drug cartel after US prosecutors charged him with having ties to organised crime.

“My position on these events is as follows: truth, justice and the defence of sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said on Thursday. She added that the US claims lack credibility unless they are backed by actual evidence.

“If the Attorney General’s Office, which is the competent authority, receives clear and irrefutable evidence under Mexican law or if its own investigation finds elements constituting a crime, it must proceed in accordance with the law under our jurisdiction,” she added.

She stressed that any wrongdoing would be addressed if proven.

“We will not shield anyone who has committed a crime; however, if there is no clear evidence, it is evident that the aim of these charges by the [US] Department of Justice is political,” she added.

The comments come after US prosecutors unsealed an indictment in New York charging Rocha and nine current and former officials with alleged links to the Sinaloa Cartel in a case that could strain relations between the two neighbours.

Alleged cartel links

Prosecutors accused the group of working with cartel leaders to move large quantities of narcotics into the US in exchange for political support and bribes.

They said the alleged links extended to Rocha’s 2021 gubernatorial campaign when members of the cartel’s “Chapitos” faction are accused of backing his bid by interfering in the vote, including stealing ballots and ballot boxes and kidnapping and intimidating opposition candidates.

US authorities said several of those charged were aligned with the sons of jailed cartel cofounder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and officials used their positions to shield cartel operations.

The indictment comes amid a broader US crackdown on senior figures within the Sinaloa Cartel, including members of the “Chapitos” faction. Authorities have arrested key figures, such as Ovidio Guzman, who was captured by Mexican forces in 2023 and later extradited to the US, while Joaquin Guzman Lopez is also now in US custody. Longtime cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who for decades evaded capture, was taken into US custody in 2024.

Rocha has denied the allegations, calling them unfounded and politically driven, and has said he will challenge them and demonstrate they lack any basis.

“This attack is not only against me, but against the Fourth Transformation movement, its emblematic leaders, and the Mexican people who represent that cause,” he said in a statement. The Fourth Transformation was policies undertaken by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that centre around national development.

Translation: I categorically and absolutely reject the accusations brought against me by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as they lack truth and any foundation. This will be demonstrated, unequivocally, at the appropriate time.

Spotlight on Mexico’s next move

Rocha Moya, a longtime Morena figure and former senator, won the Sinaloa governorship in 2021 and has remained politically aligned with Lopez Obrador.

Analysts said that what happens in the next few days remains critical.

“How will the Sheinbaum administration react is a big thing to watch in the next days,” Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on non-state armed groups at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, DC, said.

She added that if the indicted officials were extradited to the US, it could give US authorities a clearer picture of the alleged corruption within the government and the Morena party.

“It is very likely that the US interrogations and probably plea bargain with Ovidio and Joaquin Guzman and perhaps El Mayo provided significant evidence for those indictments,” she added.

The case unfolded as Mexico’s government has stepped up efforts to confront powerful drug cartels, carrying out a series of high-profile operations targeting organised crime figures in recent months, including the killing by security forces of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, who led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.