Attorneys for Senator Enrique Inzunza—who has been accused of drug trafficking by the Trump administration—have approached the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate the process of becoming a cooperating witness, a department source informed *El Universal*.
Inzunza served as the Secretary General of Government for the state of Sinaloa during a portion of Rubén Rocha Moya’s term. The Department of Justice source explained to this media outlet that a drug trafficker who surrenders and offers information typically falls under the legal status of a “cooperating witness.”
If there is a genuine risk of retaliation, the individual may also be admitted into the Witness Protection Program. These two statuses are distinct and can be applied simultaneously. The source further detailed that those initiating this process with the Department of Justice must be U.S. attorneys licensed to practice in the United States.
The Department of Justice indictment alleges that Inzunza served as a liaison between the leaders of the “Chapitos” faction and Rubén Rocha Moya—who, on Friday, May 1st, requested a temporary leave of absence as Governor of Sinaloa so as not to hinder investigations being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office.
According to the indictment, Inzunza was responsible for relaying communications from the cartel leaders to Rocha Moya regarding the support the criminal organization provided to ensure his election as governor. Much like Rocha Moya, Inzunza Casares met with the leaders of the Chapitos and other cartel figures, agreeing upon specific plans for the Sinaloa state government to support and protect the cartel in exchange for favors, the indictment states.
The Department of Justice document notes that Enrique Inzunza Casares assisted the Chapitos leaders in installing corrupt officials to safeguard the Chapitos’ drug trafficking operations. Following Rocha Moya’s election as governor, both Rocha Moya and Enrique Casares met with cartel leaders, including the leaders of the Chapitos faction.
The details of the indictment emerged after the U.S. government made public its charges of drug trafficking against 10 Mexican citizens—among them Rubén Rocha Moya, the Governor of Sinaloa, and a senator from the MORENA political party. The latter wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
“I firmly reject the slander and opprobrium to which an attempt is being made to subject me through false and malicious imputations.” Coincidentally, this occurred just one day after he had defended—from the floor of the Mexican Senate, on behalf of our parliamentary group—the unwavering and non-negotiable principle of Mexico’s sovereignty in the face of unconstitutional conduct by agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on national territory.
This conduct, he noted, took place with the complicity of the incumbent Governor of the state of Chihuahua. “I will absolutely refute all these falsehoods through the proper exercise of my duties as a Senator of the Republic,” he wrote.
He further stated that, should he be requested to do so, he would promptly appear in response to any summons or formal request issued by the competent authorities in our country, acting within the scope of their constitutional powers. However, since that day, there has been no information regarding the whereabouts of the still-serving MORENA senator.
Source: El Universal
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