Mexico freezes accounts of officials accused by United States
by Macarena Hermosilla · UPIMay 18 (UPI) -- Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit said it has temporarily frozen the bank accounts of Rubén Rocha Moya -- the Sinaloa governor on leave -- along with the accounts of his children and several senior members of his administration.
The move follows U.S. federal charges unsealed in late April accusing Rocha Moya and other Sinaloa officials of aiding the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexican authorities said the U.S. Department of Justice for the Southern District of New York accused the officials of alleged links to drug trafficking, weapons possession and receiving multimillion-dollar bribes in exchange for providing institutional protection to the "Los Chapitos" faction of the cartel.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the frozen accounts Monday during her daily news conference, but said the measure does not constitute a final determination of guilt.
Sheinbaum described the freeze as a technical and automatic mechanism carried out by Mexican banks and the Financial Intelligence Unit after U.S. authorities issue arrest warrants.
The political crisis intensified over the weekend after two former senior Sinaloa officials voluntarily surrendered to U.S. authorities -- former Public Security Secretary Gerardo Mérida Sánchez and former Administration and Finance Secretary Enrique Díaz Vega.
Both former officials are in the United States and have reportedly begun plea negotiations with prosecutors.
Under the status of cooperating witnesses in New York courts, the former secretaries could provide documents and testimony related to alleged illicit campaign financing and high-level political protection networks in exchange for reduced sentences.
As the officials previously oversaw public finances and law enforcement operations in the state of Sinaloa, they are believed to possess sensitive information regarding government financial flows and regional police operations.
Sheinbaum downplayed the potential impact of any testimony the two former officials may provide during U.S. narcotics investigations.
"It was their decision to surrender, and there is no risk, none," Sheinbaum said, rejecting accusations portraying her political movement as a "narco-government."
Sheinbaum also reiterated that her administration "does not make deals of any kind" with white-collar criminals or organized crime groups.
She has conditioned any domestic criminal action related to the case involving Rubén Rocha Moya on U.S. agencies first providing solid evidence admissible under Mexican law, while also demanding respect for Mexico's sovereignty.
Amid growing pressure from Washington over the Sinaloa case, Sheinbaum addressed comments made by President Donald Trump regarding alleged ties between Mexican officials and organized crime.
"President Trump has said it, but every time we speak, he does not say it to me directly," Sheinbaum said. "He has said that there are narco-governments in Mexico, but he is not referring to the president. And I have always told him: 'That is not true, Mr. President.'"
Sheinbaum also announced a series of high-level security meetings with U.S. officials. Mexico is expected to receive the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security later this week, followed next Monday by Sara Carter, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. U.S. Ambassador Jamieson Greer is expected to visit May 27.
The Mexican president emphasized that the meetings are based on "coordination, not subordination."
"Each side operates within its own territory," she said.