Rocha Moya pension accounts unfrozen; other assets remain blocked
By Cartel Insider Wire Desk · Edited by Mica Treviño
Original reporting: Infobae México
What happened
Infobae México reports that a federal administrative court suspension restored Rubén Rocha Moya’s access to two pension accounts on November 5. The rest of his financial resources remain frozen as litigation continues.
Reporting and context
Rubén Rocha Moya has regained access to two bank accounts used for pension and retirement payments after a federal administrative court ordered partial relief from a financial freeze, according to Infobae México. His remaining accounts and financial resources remain blocked while the underlying dispute continues.
Infobae reported, citing journalist Arturo Ángel of Milenio, that the partial unfreezing took effect on November 5. Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit, known as the UIF, had placed the former Sinaloa governor on its blocked-persons list on May 18.
One account receives an ISSSTE survivor’s pension and an IMSS benefit for unemployment at an advanced age. The other receives retirement payments from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, where Rocha Moya worked as an academic. The court measure covers those two accounts rather than his entire estate.
Rocha Moya first sought removal from the blocked-persons list through the UIF. After an unfavorable decision on August 4, his lawyers challenged the action before the Federal Court of Administrative Justice’s Second Regional Chamber in Sinaloa. The suspension granted there allowed access to the pension accounts; the main case remains open without a scheduled resolution.
The report traces the freeze to US allegations announced on April 29 against Rocha Moya and nine other current or former Sinaloa officials. It describes three charges involving drug-trafficking conspiracy and firearms offenses. US prosecutors allege that he helped Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar move fentanyl and other drugs toward the United States in exchange for political support and bribes. Rocha Moya has denied the allegations. Mexico’s government has said Washington has not provided information allowing it to verify them.
Infobae also reported that former deputy state prosecutor Dámaso Castro Zaavedra resigned after six months on leave and that former state security chief Gerardo Mérida Sánchez surrendered to US authorities in Arizona on May 11. Separately, federal authorities sought financial information concerning Rocha Moya and four relatives, according to the Milenio reporting cited by Infobae; the request’s scope has not been publicly detailed.
Original publication: https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2026/11/13/rocha-moya-recupera-dinero-de-pensiones-y-jubilacion-uif-mantiene-congelado-el-resto-de-su-patrimonio