Rocha Moya resumes Sinaloa governorship after 112-day leave

Reporting and context

Rubén Rocha Moya resumed his duties as governor of Sinaloa on Friday after taking a temporary leave in May. He said the return followed an investigation by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and cited a public statement that investigators had not found sufficient evidence to establish his participation in criminal conduct. Rocha Moya has rejected allegations that he aided or accepted bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. The account by Revista Espejo presents those allegations as claims made by U.S. authorities and as matters disputed by the governor.

His return occurred amid the detention of Fausto Corrales Rodríguez, whom the report describes as a key living witness in the alleged kidnapping of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and the killing of Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda. The report links those events to a ranch in Culiacán and discusses a public letter attributed to Zambada and shared by his lawyer, Frank Pérez. The letter reportedly said Zambada was taken to the United States against his will and that officials were present at the ranch. These details concern disputed accounts of events and are not presented here as independently established findings.

Rocha Moya arrived at the Government Palace in Culiacán while relatives of missing people demonstrated outside. He did not give reporters a statement at the entrance, but later said on social media that he had been cleared after 112 days of investigation. Other officials cited in the report said the Attorney General’s Office continued to examine matters related to the U.S. allegations. Rocha Moya’s return therefore ends his temporary leave while questions surrounding the broader case remain publicly contested.