Sinaloa governor and mayor

Ruben Rocha Moya, Governor of Sinaloa, and Juan de Dios Gamez Mendivil, Mayor of Culiacan, are currently under indictment in the United States for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy with the Sinaloa Cartel. In April 2026, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging both officials with drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and conspiring to facilitate the importation of narcotics into the U.S. in exchange for bribes and political support. Allegations include that the cartel secured Rocha Moya’s 2021 gubernatorial victory through voter intimidation and violence. Both officials have taken temporary leave from their posts to defend themselves against these accusations, which they deny as politically motivated and baseless. Prior to this, Rocha Moya faced scrutiny in 2024 when his name appeared in a letter from a kidnapped cartel capo who claimed he was traveling to meet the governor when abducted. Separately, investigative reports have linked companies associated with his children to public contract irregularities and nepotism, which are now subjects of investigation by U.S. authorities and the Mexican Financial Intelligence Unit. Neither has been convicted; all defendants are presumed innocent.