A Day in Office, Then Another Leave

Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya announced Saturday that he was again stepping away from his post, one day after returning to office following a months-long leave tied to US drug-trafficking charges. In a post on X, Rocha Moya shared a document asking the state congress to authorize "a temporary leave of absence of indefinite duration, exceeding 30 days." He wrote that "Sinaloa, the nation, and the movement of transformation are above everything."

The 77-year-old governor had returned to office on Friday, saying he was resuming leadership "with a clear conscience and my head held high," as reported by multiple outlets. His return came after a 112-day absence that began in May, when he stepped aside to face an investigation by Mexican prosecutors following the US charges.

US Charges and Denials

In April, US prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Rocha Moya and nine other current or former officials of the ruling Morena party with conspiring with a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Los Chapitos to traffic drugs—including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine—into the United States in exchange for bribes and political support. The charges marked the first time the US publicly charged a sitting Mexican politician, according to reports.

Rocha Moya has consistently denied the charges, calling them a politically motivated attack. Upon his return, he claimed Mexico's Attorney General's Office had found "no evidence to support our participation in any criminal conduct." However, Mexico's Interior Secretariat said the investigation remains open, a point of contention reported by several outlets.

Sheinbaum's government has also said Washington did not provide sufficient evidence to justify Rocha Moya's arrest or extradition, even as Mexican authorities opened their own investigation.

Backlash from Party and President

Rocha Moya's return was met with swift criticism from President Claudia Sheinbaum and his own Morena party. Without naming him, Sheinbaum wrote on X that "no personal interest can ever be placed above the interests of the people and the nation" and that "power without principles becomes arrogance; power without limits, abuse." She later said she learned of his return through his tweet and did not intend to speak to him.

Morena said its national leadership had no prior knowledge of Rocha Moya's return, calling it his "personal decision." Ricardo Monreal, Morena's leader in the lower house of Congress, publicly urged him to reconsider and remain on leave. State lawmakers were expected to approve the leave request and appoint an interim governor.

Rocha Moya, an ally of Sheinbaum and close to former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, echoed her words in his own post, saying "Sinaloa, the nation, and the transformation movement are above all else."

Wider Context and Reactions

The indictment and Rocha Moya's brief return have unfolded against a backdrop of heightened US-Mexico tension. US President Donald Trump has used tariff threats to demand Mexico's cooperation on drugs and has claimed Mexico is governed by politicians linked to drug trafficking. The Sinaloa cartel has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.

Since the indictment, the mayor of Culiacán and Sinaloa's deputy attorney general stepped down, and two former senior state officials surrendered to US authorities, as reported. Sinaloa has been engulfed in a bloody conflict between rival cartel factions for nearly two years.

Rocha Moya, governor since 2021, was also involved in a 2023 scandal in which a Sinaloa cartel capo's letter said he believed he was on his way to meet Rocha when kidnapped, a claim reported by one outlet. He faces charges including narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns, and could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years if convicted.

Despite the reversal, the brief return exposed divisions within the ruling party and raised questions about Rocha Moya's political future.