Mexican Senator Facing Drug Charges Taken Into Custody in San Diego

A Mexican senator from Sinaloa state was taken into custody in San Diego by the Drug Enforcement Administration, multiple Mexican news outlets reported on Saturday. The senator, who is 53, faces narcotics importation conspiracy charges along with charges for possession of machine guns and destructive devices.

The Department of Justice and the DEA’s San Diego field office did not respond to a request for comment. The senator is among 10 current and former Sinaloa officials who were indicted by the United States District Court Southern District of New York on April 29.

Charges According to the 34-page superseding indictment, the senator is accused of conspiring with a Sinaloa Cartel faction to import drugs to the United States. The indictment alleges the senator agreed on plans for state government officials to support and protect the cartel in exchange for favors.

The indictment further states the senator and a businessman who previously served as a state finance official assisted cartel leaders in installing officials to protect drug trafficking operations. The businessman turned himself in to authorities in Arizona on Friday.

2021 elections, the businessman provided cartel leaders with names and addresses of political opponents so they could be threatened and forced to drop out of the gubernatorial race, according to the court document. After the election, the senator and the businessman met with cartel leaders and recognized that they helped deliver a successful campaign.

In return, the indictment indicated that state officials would ensure the cartel faction had control over the Sinaloa State Police, allowing drug trafficking operations without interference by state law enforcement. The senator’s lawyers reportedly held talks with the Department of Justice for his voluntary surrender and to become a government witness, Mexican newspaper El Universal reported May 2.

The senator denied a report that he planned to cooperate with authorities, writing “Utterly false” on X the same day.