Ruben Rocha returns as Sinaloa governor despite US charges

Ruben Rocha Moya, the governor of Mexico's violence-plagued Sinaloa state who is wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, said Friday that he had returned to office after a nearly four-month absence.

Rocha Moya, an ally of President Claudia Sheinbaum, was indicted by the United States in April. He repeated that he had “committed no crime” and said he was returning to office “with a clear conscience and head held high”.

The US Justice Department charged Rocha Moya and nine others in April with colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel to distribute drugs inside the United States and demanded their extraditions. It was the first time the United States had publicly charged a sitting Mexican politician.

Sheinbaum requested that the United States provide “irrefutable” evidence before acting against Rocha Moya, who belongs to her leftist Morena party.

Rocha Moya has denied the allegations but took a leave of absence to fight the charges. Last month, he denied he was in hiding after reports that federal security forces had moved him to a secret location to avoid capture in a potential US operation.

The Sinaloa Cartel, co-founded by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is one of six Mexican drug gangs that US President Donald Trump has designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.