A senator from Mexico was allegedly arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in San Diego, California.

Enrique Inzunza Cazarez, 53, was indicted last month in New York on weapons and drug trafficking charges involving a cartel.

According to the New York Post, he 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.”

More from the New York Post:

He is accused of narcotics importation conspiracy; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

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Inzunza Cazárez, a member of the ruling Morena party, has held office since August 2024 and previously served as the Secretary General of Sinaloa under Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, who was also indicted and stepped down May 2.

According to the 34-page superseding indictment, the Sinaloa Senator conspired with the Sinaloa Cartel faction Los Chapitos – which is run by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons, to import drugs to the United States.

Inzunza Cazárez is accused of meeting with Los Chapitos leaders “and agreed on specific plans for the government in Sinaloa, under Rocha Moya, to support and protect the cartel for favors from the cartel that, in turn, help the defendants and other corrupt officials in power.”

The Department of Justice alleged that Inzunza Cazárez and businessman Enrique Diaz Vega, who once served as the state’s Secretary of Administration and Finance from November 2021 to September 2024 and turned himself in to authorities in Arizona on Friday, assisted Los Chapitos leaders in installing dishonest officials to protect that cartel faction’s drug trafficking operations and acted as middlemen between El Chapo’s sons and Rocha Moya.

However, Inzunza Cazárez said the reports are “false” and said he’s in Sinaloa.

“I am a truthful man of institutions. I have always served my state and my country with integrity, commitment, and honor. I firmly reject the accusations leveled against me; they are mendacious and lack any foundation. And that will be proven in due time. It is false what is published by right-wing media regarding any contact with foreign authorities. Nor do I have or will I hire lawyers. There is no reason for it. I am my own lawyer, and my probity suffices,” Inzunza Cazárez said.

“I am in Sinaloa, my homeland, of which I am proud, with my loved ones, good and honest people. I will attend to, if it is formally presented to me, personally and promptly any requirement made by the authorities of my country, in accordance with their constitutional powers. One is what one has been all one’s life. My honesty and uprightness are backed by the truthfulness of a trajectory of work, study, and service with integrity,” he continued.

10News shared further:

U.S. DEA Administrator Terrence Cole also issued a statement after the indictment was unsealed.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is not just trafficking deadly drugs, it is a designated terrorist organization that relies on corruption and bribery to drive violence and profit,” Cole said. “This indictment exposes a deliberate effort to undermine public institutions and put American lives at risk. The defendants allegedly used positions of trust to protect cartel operations, enabling a pipeline of deadly drugs into our country.”

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“No one is above the law. We are grateful for our U.S. and Mexican partners who choose integrity every day and stand with us to safeguard our communities,” Cole said. “Together, we will continue to apply sustained pressure against the Sinaloa Cartel and the networks that support it to protect the American people and save lives.”

 

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