Mexico Governor Ruben Rocha returns to office despite US criminal charges

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkSinaloa state Governor Ruben Rocha appears at an earthquake drill in Culiacan, Mexico, on September 19, 2024 [File: Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 21 Aug 202621 Aug 2026The governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Ruben Rocha Moya, has returned to his post after facing accusations of drug trafficking from the United States government.On Friday, Rocha announced on social media that he had resumed his duties, after taking a leave of absence on May 1.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Sheinbaum rejects US claim that Mexico’s government is linked to cartelslist 2 of 3US announces more than $100m in rewards for eight Jalisco cartel leaderslist 3 of 3Son of Mexico’s former president AMLO alleges US revoked his visaend of listHe used his post to maintain his innocence after the US charged him with protecting a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for help with his political career.“Today, I return to my responsibilities as governor of Sinaloa with a clear conscience and my head held high, with the power of the truth on our side,” Rocha said.“Let there be no doubt: Now and always, I will defend — relentlessly and without compromise — my honour and that of my family.”Rocha is one of several Mexican officials who have faced criminal charges and other punitive measures under the second administration of US President Donald Trump.Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has sought to crack down on crime across the Western Hemisphere, including by labelling gangs like the Sinaloa Cartel as “foreign terrorist organisations”.Trump has also threatened military action in Mexico. He has accused the country’s cartels of “orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere” and has depicted the Mexican government as overrun by criminal elements.On April 29, the Trump administration unsealed a criminal indictment against 10 Mexican officials and businessmen.They included a senator representing Sinaloa, a public security secretary for the state, the mayor of the city Culiacan and several high-ranking police leaders. Rocha was among the group that was indicted.Previously a senator, he is considered a top official in the left-wing Morena party, which has become a dominant force in Mexican politics. His relationship with the party’s founder, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, stretches back decades.In the indictment, the Trump administration accused Rocha of winning his election as governor in 2021 by collaborating with The Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by the children of imprisoned kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.The Chapitos, according to the court filings, stole ballots for Rocha’s election rivals and kidnapped opposition members.In return, US prosecutors alleged that Rocha allowed The Chapitos to “install other corrupt officials in positions of power” in the state of Sinaloa.But Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president and another Morena party leader, has called on the US government to provide definitive proof in the case.“No Mexican citizen — regardless of political party affiliation, or whether they belong to a party at all, or whether they are a public official — should be denied a fair trial. If they are accused, there must be evidence to support that accusation,” Sheinbaum said in May.She also suggested the Mexican government should handle the case. “What are we asking for? Simply: Do you have evidence against the governor who is on leave? Present it, so the prosecutor’s office can conduct its investigation.”Rocha depicted his decision to temporarily leave office as a means of making himself available to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office (FGR), which opened an investigation to check the validity of the US indictment.In Friday’s social media post, Rocha suggested he had been exonerated by the ongoing proceedings.“After 112 days of investigation, the Attorney General’s Office has already announced at a news conference that there is not a shred of evidence to support any claim of my involvement in criminal conduct,” Rocha wrote.“In other words, I have committed no crime under our country’s constitutional and legal framework.”He also praised President Sheinbaum for protecting Mexico’s sovereignty against “the machinations of foreign interests and the treachery of the far-right opposition”.But in a subsequent statement, Mexico’s Secretariat of the Interior, a federal agency, appeared to contradict some of Rocha’s remarks.It explained, for instance, that the Attorney General’s Office “maintains open investigations related to the 10 individuals named by the United States Department of Justice, including the governor of Sinaloa”.Rocha’s return to public office was a “personal decision”, the statement added.Still, it reiterated the Sheinbaum administration’s call for the US government to be forthcoming about the evidence against Rocha.“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly requested that the United States Department of Justice provide the corresponding evidence to support the allegations made,” the secretariat said.“The Secretariat of the Interior reaffirms its respect for the powers of the responsible institutions and for due process in the development of the investigation.”