Sinaloa governor and mayor

Rubén Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa since November 2021, and Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil, the mayor of Culiacán, were indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 29, 2026. They face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy, weapons offenses, and conspiring to import narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The U.S. indictment alleges that both officials conspired with the "Chapitos" faction of the Sinaloa Cartel to receive millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for political protection and operational support. Prosecutors allege the cartel helped secure Rocha’s 2021 election victory by kidnapping and intimidating political opponents and stealing ballot boxes. Rocha is specifically accused of meeting with cartel leaders before and after his election to promise impunity for their drug trafficking. In July 2024, Rocha was linked to a separate controversy involving the kidnapping of cartel founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who claimed he was lured to a meeting with the governor and the late Héctor Melesio Cuén; Rocha denied attending any such meeting. Following the 2026 U.S. indictment, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office initially stated it lacked sufficient evidence to detain Rocha for extradition, though it has since reactivated investigations into the 2021 "narco-election" and the murder of Cuén. Rocha has categorically denied all charges, labeling them a political attack, and took a temporary leave of absence as governor in May 2026 to facilitate the Mexican investigation.