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Rocha steps down again
Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, a Mexican state governor wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, announced on Saturday that he was stepping down again, one day after returning to office.
“authorise "a temporary leave of absence of indefinite duration, exceeding 30 days."”
Rocha, 77, shared a document on X asking the state congress to authorise "a temporary leave of absence of indefinite duration, exceeding 30 days."
The Reuters and AFP accounts tie the political crisis to the US Justice Department charging Rocha and nine other officials of the ruling Morena party in April and demanding their extraditions for allegedly colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel to distribute drugs inside the United States.
Rocha had said Friday on X that he was resuming leadership of Sinaloa, after he stepped away from the role in May to face an investigation by Mexican prosecutors, and he insisted on Friday that he had "committed no crime" while returning "with a clear conscience and head held high."
Sheinbaum and Morena backlash
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized Rocha’s return without naming him, saying on Saturday that "no personal interest can ever be placed above the interests of the people" and of Mexico.
In a separate X post, Rocha responded with a similar framing, writing "Sinaloa, the nation, and the movement of transformation are above everything," as he sought the leave again.
The DW account says Rocha’s controversial return was not well received by leadership in the government or within his own Morena Party, and it describes the US allegations as conspiracy to smuggle drugs.
The Jerusalem Post similarly describes the political firestorm as Sheinbaum warning on X that "power without principles becomes arrogance" while Rocha posted that "Sinaloa, the nation, and the transformation movement are above all else."
US case and Mexico’s next move
The US Justice Department’s April charges allege Rocha and nine other current or former officials conspired with a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Los Chapitos to traffic drugs into the United States in exchange for political support and bribes, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“"to distribute massive quantities of narcotics to the United States."”
The Times of India reports that Mexico’s government said Washington had not provided enough evidence to justify Rocha’s arrest or extradition while opening its own investigation into the allegations.
Blick adds that the prosecutor’s office accuses Rocha and nine other officials of having conspired with the Sinaloa cartel "to distribute massive quantities of narcotics to the United States."
As the political dispute continues, the Reuters framing in the Times of India emphasizes that Rocha rejected the allegations as a politically motivated attack on Sheinbaum’s movement, while his brief return exposed divisions within the ruling party and renewed questions over his political future.