Journalists: "Crime Must Be Extirpated from Politics in Sinaloa"

Journalists have called for the "extirpation" of organized crime's influence from politics in Sinaloa, highlighting a deeply entrenched relationship that has plagued the state for decades. During the program 'Con los de Casa,' El Universal's Editorial Director David Aponte and columnist Maite Azuela spoke with journalist Silber Meza, who asserted that governing Sinaloa effectively requires the tacit approval of criminal organizations.

Meza explained that the pervasive influence of drug trafficking on state politics is not a recent phenomenon but a consequence of years of corruption and the willingness of some politicians to accept money, power, and influence from criminal groups. "The politicians who became corrupt and increasingly accepted the money and power and influences of organized crime," he stated. This connection, he emphasized, transcends specific administrations and parties, noting that "all governments of Sinaloa have had a link with organized crime for at least the last 30 years."

While acknowledging that links between authorities and criminal groups in Sinaloa have been a persistent issue, Meza pointed out that the accusations against Governor Rubén Rocha Moya's administration have reached a new level of intensity and public scrutiny. "It is very demonstrable through the operators around him, but never before have we had such direct criticism, such direct accusations against a governor as in the case of Rocha Moya," he observed.

The journalist stressed that violence and the presence of criminal groups have permeated nearly every aspect of life in Sinaloa. He believes a fundamental challenge for the state is to sever the deep-seated ties between political structures and criminal elements, stating, "We have to extirpate the crime-politics relationship. It is united down to the backbone." Meza even suggested that some of these personal relationships between politicians and criminals may have originated in their youth, with "many of the relationships of today's politicians in Sinaloa were formed when politicians and narcos were in the same private school."