Once in a while, here in the United States, we’re reminded that we share our southern border with what is essentially a failed narco-state, where the real power is held by the wealthy drug cartels. We have made some inroads into those cartels, though; on Sunday, we learned of another, with news of the arrest of a Mexican Senator, no less. Sinaloa Senator Enrique Inzunza Cazárez is, as of Friday, now in American custody, and he is facing a number of serious charges.
Sinaloa Senator Enrique Inzunza Cazárez, who is facing drug trafficking and weapon charges, was taken into custody in San Diego by the Drug Enforcement Administration, multiple Mexican news outlets reported on Saturday.
The Department of Justice and the DEA’s San Diego field office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Inzunza Cazárez, 53, who 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, is said to have turned himself in to federal authorities in southern California.
He is accused of narcotics importation conspiracy; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Cazárez isn’t a penny-ante player, either:
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.
What’s mildly surprising is the claim that Cazárez turned himself in, which is something these cartel types don’t often do. Could he have been compromised, or is he looking for some kind of a deal, what with the Trump administration tightening the screws on the cartels? Cazárez isn’t the first major political figure from Sinaloa to be nabbed.
Read More: Big: U.S. Indicts Mexican Governor, Top Officials in Sinaloa Cartel Crackdown
Here is another interesting data point: There are reports of the CIA operating in Mexico, in Sinaloa and Chihuahua.
…the CIA has over the last several months been purposefully working more closely with select regional, state, and local Mexican officials than they ever have in the past, primarily due to the agency’s concerns that the cartels have effectively infiltrated some elements of the Mexican government.
Further underscoring distrust between US and Mexican authorities, the US Justice Department last month accused the sitting governor of Sinaloa, who is a member of Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena political party, and nine other current and former Mexican officials of actively conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Note that Cazárez crossed the border to turn himself in. Is this part of a deal?
Read More: Trump’s Big, Beautiful Cartel Crackdown: 92 Cartel Members Extradited Before Jalisco Raid
Cazárez has reportedly been accused, along with a prominent Mexican businessman, Enrique Diaz Vega, who was also for a time working in the state of Sinaloa’s government, of running interference for the cartels, working with co-opted state officials to protect the cartels. If this is true, and if Cazárez is now singing like a bird to the American federal government, then any deal he makes will have to involve a solitary prison term, and if he ever gets out, he will have to be buried deeper into the Witness Protection Program than anyone has been to date.
That’s the price one pays for being a toady of the cartels. Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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