Mexico wants “irrefutable” proof from the US on drug charges against a governor and officials before extradition, says Sheinbaum.
MEXICO CITY: Mexico is seeking “irrefutable” evidence to back up the shock US drug trafficking charges against a state governor and other officials before proceeding with extradition requests, President Claudia Sheinbaum (pic) said Thursday.
The US Justice Department unveiled charges on Wednesday against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine others, accusing them of working with the notorious Sinaloa cartel to distribute “massive quantities” of narcotics to the United States.
Rocha Moya, a member of the Sheinbaum’s left-leaning Morena party and close ally of her predecessor, has governed the violent state since 2021. The other accused officials are also part of Morena.
“If the Office of the Attorney General… receives solid and irrefutable evidence in accordance with Mexican law, or if, in the course of its own investigation, it finds elements constituting a crime, it must comply” with the US extradition request, Sheinbaum told her morning press conference.
She added that if evidence was not provided or found, it will be evident that “the goal of these Justice Department accusations is political.”
Sheinbaum noted this was the first time that the United States had made narcotrafficking charges public against a sitting governor or other high-ranking official.
“We aren’t going to protect anyone,” she said.
Sheinbaum explained that among the proof presented was a piece of paper that shows alleged bribe payments to the accused politicians.
