Mexican senator facing US drug charges rejects witness deal

Mexican senator Enrique Inzunza, who is wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, said on Monday that he would not become a protected witness for US authorities.

The US Justice Department charged Inzunza and nine other officials from the ruling Morena party in April and demanded their extradition. US prosecutors allege they colluded with the Sinaloa Cartel to distribute drugs inside the United States.

Inzunza rejected the idea that he might give evidence in exchange for protection, telling a news conference: “That’s just another lie among so many others that have been told.” He added: “Never will I benefit from that. I’m a Mexican who believes in his institutions.”

Sinaloa governor Ruben Rocha Moya, also among those charged, announced last month that he was stepping down a day after returning to office following an investigation by Mexican prosecutors. President Claudia Sheinbaum later wrote on X that “no personal interest can ever be placed above the interests of the people” or Mexico, without explicitly naming anyone.

Rocha and Inzunza were both members of Sheinbaum’s Morena party. The Sinaloa Cartel, co-founded by jailed drug baron Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is one of six Mexican drug gangs that US President Donald Trump has designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.