Transnational drug syndicate based in Sinaloa, Mexico, known for illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.
U.S. prosecutors have unsealed an indictment accusing Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other current and former Mexican officials of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic narcotics into the United States. Governor Rocha has denied wrongdoing and has taken temporary leave; President Claudia Sheinbaum has refused U.S. arrest requests and ordered a Mexican probe. The case is splitting Morena between AMLO loyalists and younger reformers.
Mexico has rejected claims that the CIA participated in lethal operations against cartels on Mexican soil. CNN and The New York Times reports describe covert U.S. involvement, while Mexican officials insist on sovereignty and reject the allegations. The dispute has intensified as the U.S. debate over cartels and security policy continues.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum has privately warned Morena officials that any members credibly tied to corruption or cartel links must resign and face consequences, Reuters reports. The warning follows a U.S. indictment that has charged Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha and other officials and has prompted arrests and sanctions tied to the Sinaloa cartel.
Authorities from the US and Mexico are expanding efforts to combat cross-border crime, including sanctions against cartel-linked entities and measures targeting fuel theft networks that fund violence. The actions come as Washington and allied governments seek to disrupt illicit revenue streams and curb drug trafficking across the region.
Mexico has filed criminal complaints in the United States over Mexican nationals killed in ICE custody or during enforcement operations, as tensions rise with Washington following the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. The move follows multiple fatalities since Trump returned to office and comes as Mexico presses for investigations and UN scrutiny.
The United States has designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as foreign terrorist organizations. The move, published in the Federal Register, expands the roster of Mexican criminal groups treated as terrorists amid ongoing U.S. pressure on Mexico over security and border policy.
Ismael Zambada Garcia has received a life sentence in Brooklyn federal court for his role as a leader in the Sinaloa Cartel and for racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise. The judge ordered life imprisonment without parole; prosecutors note the scale of his crimes and the cartel’s global reach.