Mexican governor wanted for drug trafficking in U.S. resumes duties

Rubén Rocha Moya, the governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state, has returned to his post after a nearly four-month absence. He had stepped down temporarily on May 1 to face an investigation following a U.S. request for his arrest and extradition on drug trafficking charges. Washington alleges he has ties to the cartel once led by Joaquín 'Chapo' Guzmán.

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I return to the exercise of my responsibilities as governor of Sinaloa with a clean conscience and head held high, and with the force of truth on our side.

Rocha, who governs the state from which Guzmán's cartel originated, declared upon his return, "I return to the exercise of my responsibilities as governor of Sinaloa with a clean conscience and head held high, and with the force of truth on our side." The 77-year-old politician, a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum's Morena party, insists he is "alien and innocent" of the accusations.

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The decision of Dr. Rubén Rocha Moya to rejoin his duties as governor of Sinaloa responds exclusively to a determination of a personal nature.

However, both his party and the federal government have publicly distanced themselves from his decision to resume office. The Interior Ministry issued a statement asserting that Rocha's return was "exclusively a personal determination." The statement also noted that the Mexican Attorney General's office is investigating Rocha and other politicians but stressed the need for the U.S. to provide "corresponding evidence." Morena's leadership echoed this sentiment, stating they had no prior knowledge of his decision and were therefore "distancing themselves from this decision."

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This leadership had no prior knowledge of the governor's personal decision. Therefore, Morena distances itself from this decision.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in New York accuses Rocha of receiving assistance from 'Chapo' Guzmán's sons, known as 'Los Chapitos,' to secure his governorship. These allegations echo previous claims made by Guzmán's associate, Iván 'Mayo' Zambada, who implicated Rocha in a kidnapping scheme related to his own capture in the U.S. Rocha has consistently denied these accusations throughout his career, which spans academia and politics, primarily within leftist parties.

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False accusations, with political motivations and slander.