The power of Mexico’s drug cartels is a national security threat that undermines the stability of our region and poisons thousands of Americans every year. President Donald Trump’s indictment of two Mexican government officials is a direct assault on the “intolerable alliance” between Mexico’s ruling party and the Sinaloa drug cartel. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum would be wise to cooperate.
On April 29, the Department of Justice issued indictments against the cartel in Mexico, including two members of Sheinbaum’s Morena Party: Sinaloa governor Ruben Rocha Moya and Mexican Sen. Enrique Inzunza Cazarez. Sinaloa’s deputy chief prosecutor, Damaso Castro Zaavedra, and the former chiefs of all of Sinaloa’s main law enforcement agencies have also been charged.
The level of corruption is staggering. So too are some of the charges.
One of the indicted former chiefs, Juan Valenzuela Millan, allegedly ordered the kidnapping of a Drug Enforcement Agency source and his 13-year-old son. Under his orders, local police stopped, tortured, and then murdered them.
Indictments against sitting Mexican politicians are rare. And these strike close to the heart of political power in Mexico. Rocha is a close associate of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum’s mentor and predecessor in office.
According to the indictment, Rocha was elected governor of Sinaloa in 2021 with the help of a faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the infamous kingpin extradited to the U.S. in 2017. That group, known as “Los Chapitos,” allegedly intimidated, kidnapped, and murdered Rocha’s rivals in exchange for a free hand to operate in the northern Mexican state.
“Politicians and law enforcement officials have abused their authority in support of the cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence, and sold out their offices in exchange for massive bribes,” the DOJ alleges.
Sheinbaum has pledged to cooperate in the war against narcoterrorism, but actions speak louder than words. By indicting top officials from her own political party, Trump is testing Sheinbaum’s seriousness to do what is right, both for her country and ours.
Early results are far from encouraging.
Sheinbaum has demanded that the U.S. present “clear” and “irrefutable” evidence of its involvement, and said that without it, she will not honor the extradition request. “If there isn’t clear evidence, it is obvious that the objective of these indictments by the Department of Justice is political.”
Yet the indictments themselves offer precisely that. And it’s highly unlikely that Sheinbaum, as head of Mexico’s government, was unaware of some of the allegations.
Sheinbaum’s decision seemingly to ignore the corruption around her is unfortunate and unsustainable.
Mexico is hostage to the cartels. Its influence is corrosive. Mexico has suffered growing violence for decades.
In February, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel carried out waves of attacks after its leader was killed in a military raid. The country was brought to a standstill with more than 60 people dead, dozens of buildings burned, and hundreds of flights canceled.
In recent years, hundreds of politicians, journalists, police officers, and everyday citizens have been murdered. There are parts of the land where cartels, not governments, rule. The problem has become particularly acute with the rise of synthetic drugs that are easily manufactured and more profitable.
The cartels couldn’t exist without an ecosystem in which corruption dominates. To restore Mexico’s sovereignty and tackle the illicit narcotics trade into the U.S., Mexico must tackle its corruption. If it refuses to act, the U.S. will have to do so instead.