Inzunza visits Sinaloa palace

Reporting and context

Morena Senator Enrique Inzunza visited the Sinaloa Government Palace on Friday after Governor Rubén Rocha Moya announced his return to office, El Diario de Chihuahua reports. The senator was photographed leaving the official building in a gray SUV and did not comment to reporters. The visit came as Inzunza, Rocha and other Sinaloa state and municipal officials face allegations from the United States of possible links to the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the report.

Inzunza had been absent from sessions of the Senate amid calls from opponents and fellow Morena members for him to request a leave of absence. The report says he continued receiving his salary by check and occasionally appeared in remote sessions. On July 29, Morena caucus coordinator Ignacio Mier defended Inzunza in the absence of a conviction or formal request from authorities, as described by El Diario de Chihuahua.

Rocha met that afternoon with mayors, lawmakers and magistrates of Sinaloa's Supreme Court of Justice. Eligio López Portillo, president of the Sinaloa Congress's Political Coordination Board and Morena caucus coordinator, defended the governor's return as legitimate and constitutional at a news conference, the report says. The U.S. allegations remain allegations; the article does not report a conviction or a judicial finding establishing cartel ties.