By Kylie Madry, Diego Oré and Sarah Morland
“It’s difficult to imagine Rocha returning to office without President Sheinbaum’s blessing.
It’s a sign that the government wants to reinforce its message that there is no evidence of collusion between Morena politicians and organized crime,” said Antonio Ocaranza, a political consultant and former spokesperson for former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. MEXICO CITY, – The governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, Ruben Rocha Moya, returned to office on Friday after taking leave for more than three months following U.S. drug trafficking charges, a move likely to deepen strains between Mexico and the United States.
The move appears to cap a remarkable turnaround for Rocha, who has not only avoided, for now, extradition to the United States but has now reclaimed the governor’s office. In his statement on X, Rocha denied wrongdoing and cast the U.S. case as a politically motivated attack on Mexico’s sovereignty and on the leftist movement led by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Mexico’s interior ministry appeared to distance itself from Rocha’s statement, saying his decision to return to office was a personal one and that the attorney general’s office investigation into him and others accused by the U.S. is ongoing.
Rocha, 77, a member of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, said in a statement posted on X that he was resuming his duties, and added that Mexican authorities found no evidence to support the accusations against him.
The Mexican government is “more than happy to extradite drug lords if the U.S. wishes, but they’re not so eager to extradite members of the political party of their president,” said Martin Castillo, a public policy expert at the University of Chicago.
