The accused’s file: more questions than answers
Rubén Rocha Moya, governor on leave, and nine other Sinaloans accused by the US of having ties to drug trafficking, left a trail of contradictions in their asset declarations.
Enrique Díaz Vega, former Secretary of Finance, reported income of 7.8 million pesos in 2024. But what draws attention are the cash purchases: land and luxury cars, such as a BMW and a Lexus. It also has 10 companies, some linked to the Coppel family.
Senator Enrique Inzunza Cázarez is not far behind. In 2021 he paid cash for a BMW M Coupe for 650 thousand pesos, and the following year for a Lexus for almost 2 million. His pension as former president of the Superior Court of Justice of Sinaloa amounts to 1.6 million annually.
“One of these pensions is granted by the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) —where he was rector from 1993 to 1996— for the amount of 731 thousand 647 pesos; from the IMSS he received 490 thousand 626 pesos, and for a widow’s pension from the ISSSTE he reported 316 thousand 102 pesos.”
Rocha Moya, for his part, declared income of 2.3 million a year, a VW Gol won in a raffle… and three pensions. He also bought a 2018 Mercedes Benz GLC on credit for 850 thousand pesos. How do you sustain that lifestyle with a salary of 798 thousand pesos per year as governor?
Juan de Dios Gámez, licensed mayor of Culiacán, reported only one house purchased in 2015 and three bank accounts without amounts. Gerardo Mérida, former Secretary of Security, declared a Mercedes purchased on credit for 1 million pesos.
And then there are those who did not declare anything: Juan Valenzuela, Dámaso Castro, Marco Antonio Almanza and Alberto Jorge Contreras—all former security officials—simply did not present their assets.
The accusation by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern District of New York, dated April 29, accuses them of aligning themselves with Los Chapitos. But here, in Sinaloa, the accounts do not add up.
Note: This analysis is based on official documents and public asset statements.
