A federal indictment unsealed in the United States has accused Rubén Rocha Moya, the sitting governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, of conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel. According to The New York Times, Rocha Moya is the highest-ranking member of Mexico’s dominant political party, Morena, to be charged by U.S. authorities.
The indictment deepens the long-running tension between Washington and Mexico City over how to confront powerful drug-trafficking organizations. Sinaloa state has been the historic heartland of the cartel that bears its name, and the accusation against its governor raises uncomfortable questions about how deeply organized crime has penetrated Mexico’s political establishment — all the way to the top of state government.
