Politics & Governance
Ruben Rocha Moya says he will leave office again
Mexican governor Ruben Rocha Moya says he is leaving office again after returning to lead Sinaloa state while facing US drug trafficking charges.
Rocha Moya had announced on X on August 21 that he was resuming leadership of the state, a post he had stepped away from in May to face an investigation by Mexican prosecutors.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticised politicians who put personal interest above Mexico after his return, without naming Rocha Moya. Asked by journalists about him, she referred to her post and said she had learned of his return through his tweet. Her government had said the return was a “personal choice” that she had not sanctioned.
The US Justice Department charged Rocha Moya and nine other officials of the ruling Morena party in April, accusing them of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel to distribute drugs inside the United States and demanding their extraditions. Rocha Moya, 77, has denied wrongdoing.
He has said Mexican prosecutors questioned him at the end of May and that after 112 days of investigation there was “not a shred of evidence” to support criminal involvement. Sheinbaum had earlier asked the United States to provide “irrefutable” evidence before handing him over.
Update
Ruben Rocha Moya says he is leaving office again.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 August 2026 at 00:58:47 UTC.
Update
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticised politicians who put personal interest above the country after Rocha Moya resumed office.
Sheinbaum did not explicitly name Rocha Moya in her August 22 post on X.
When asked by journalists about Rocha Moya, Sheinbaum said she learned of his return through his tweet and referred reporters to her X post.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 August 2026 at 23:58:06 UTC.
Update
President Claudia Sheinbaum's government said Rocha Moya's return was a personal choice that she had not sanctioned.
The item frames Rocha Moya's return as setting up a possible standoff between Mexico City and Washington over his fate.
It adds that Sheinbaum announced an investigation last month into whether the United States violated international law and Mexico's constitution by taking Ivan “El Mayo” Zambada out of the country.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 21:07:08 UTC.
Update
Rocha Moya said he returned after 112 days of investigation and after stepping aside on May 1.
Rocha Moya said Mexican prosecutors had questioned him at the end of May and claimed there was no evidence to substantiate criminal conduct.
US prosecutors accuse Rocha Moya of receiving help from El Chapo's sons to become governor in 2021.
Former El Chapo associate Ivan "El Mayo" Zambada named Rocha Moya in connection with the alleged meeting that led to Zambada's capture in the United States in July 2024; Rocha Moya denies this.
Rocha Moya accused the national and foreign ultra right of a hit job on the political left.
Crisis Group analyst David Mora said the case puts President Claudia Sheinbaum in a very complex position if the Trump administration increases pressure for extradition.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 18:51:32 UTC.
Update
The US Justice Department charged Ruben Rocha Moya and nine others in April with colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel to distribute drugs inside the United States and demanded their extraditions.
The case was described as the first time the United States had publicly charged a sitting Mexican politician.
President Claudia Sheinbaum requested that the United States provide “irrefutable” evidence before acting against Rocha Moya.
Rocha Moya denied he was in hiding last month after reports that federal security forces had moved him to a secret location to avoid capture in a potential US operation.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of six Mexican drug gangs designated by US President Donald Trump as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 16:40:06 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The timing and form of Rocha Moya's latest departure are not specified.
The supplied information does not state the reason Rocha Moya gave for leaving office again.
Source
AFP news report published on .