Senator Enrique Inzunza Cazares Detained in Drug Trafficking Case
Enrique Inzunza Cazares, a senator from Sinaloa, was taken into custody in San Diego by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) amid ongoing drug trafficking and weapons charges, according to multiple reports from Mexican news outlets on Saturday.
Neither the Department of Justice nor the DEA’s San Diego office has commented on the situation.
Cazares, 53, was one of ten current and former officials from Sinaloa indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 29. He is said to have voluntarily turned himself in to federal authorities in California.
The charges against him include conspiracy to import drugs, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess those same weapons.
Inzunza Cazares, affiliated with the ruling Morena party, has been in office since August 2024. He previously held the position of secretary general of Sinaloa under Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, himself recently indicted and who resigned on May 2.
A detailed 34-page indictment alleges that Cazares conspired with Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons, to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
It is claimed Cazares met with Los Chapitos’ leaders, agreeing to develop a specific plan to support the Sinaloa government under Rocha Moya in exchange for favors from the cartel, effectively aiding corrupt officials in power.
In a related development, both Inzunza Cazares and businessman Enrique Díaz Be, a former state official, reportedly turned themselves in to authorities in Arizona on Friday. Díaz Be is accused of helping the cartel install corrupt officials to shield their drug trafficking operations and acted as a go-between for Rocha Moya and the cartel leaders.
As the June 2021 elections approached, Díaz Be allegedly shared the names and addresses of political opponents of Rocha Moya with Los Chapitos, facilitating a campaign of intimidation that led some candidates to withdraw.
Post-election, records indicate that Cazares and Rocha Moya met with Los Chapitos leaders to acknowledge their assistance in the successful campaign. The indictment details an arrangement where Rocha Moya would ensure that the Chapitos gained control of the Sinaloa State Police, ostensibly allowing them to operate their drug trafficking without fear of law enforcement interference.
On May 2, it was reported that Cazares’ legal team was in negotiations with the Justice Department that could allow him to turn himself in and become a government witness.
A Justice Department source noted that surrendering drug traffickers who provide information typically fall under the category of cooperating witnesses. Yet, on the same day, Cazares dismissed the report, calling it “absolutely false” in a statement.
A local official, Adela Piris Castellano, attributed Cazares’ arrest to actions taken during Donald Trump’s presidency, celebrating it on social media. She emphasized that Cazares was apprehended following a formal indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice related to drug trafficking and his links to the Sinaloa Cartel, adding, “Trump: The best president for Mexico.”
