Former DEA official calls for Rocha Moya arrest
Original reporting: El Financiero
What happened
El Financiero reports that Derek Maltz called for Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya to be arrested and transferred to the United States, citing allegations in a U.S. case.
Reporting and context
El Financiero reports that Derek Maltz, a former acting head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, called on Mexico’s security chief, Omar García Harfuch, to arrest Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and transfer him to the United States. Maltz made the call in a post on X after Rocha returned to the state government following 112 days on leave. Maltz wrote that Rocha should answer for his actions and proposed what he described as a high-level arrest and deportation operation.
The report says Rocha requested an indefinite leave from the Sinaloa Congress soon after Maltz’s post. It attributes the pressure to a U.S. indictment cited by Maltz, which names Rocha and nine current or former Sinaloa officials in allegations involving drug and weapons trafficking. According to the account, the U.S. case alleges that the officials worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to move large quantities of narcotics into the United States. Those allegations are attributed to the U.S. prosecution and are not presented here as established facts.
El Financiero also recounts Maltz’s earlier calls for Mexican authorities to arrest the people named in the U.S. case. Maltz served as the DEA’s acting administrator from January 20 to May 2, 2025, after a 28-year career as a special agent, the report says. Rocha’s leave request, the U.S. allegations and Maltz’s comments are separate developments; the source does not report a court ruling resolving the allegations against the governor.