Rocha Moya requests indefinite leave after backlash
Original reporting: El País México
What happened
El País México reports that Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya requested indefinite leave after returning to office and facing criticism from Morena leaders and President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Reporting and context
El País México reports that Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya requested an indefinite leave from office on Saturday, one day after returning from a three-month absence. Rocha, a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party, posted an image of his request to the state Congress and wrote that Sinaloa, the nation and the transformation movement come first. The report describes the request as a retreat after criticism from Morena lawmakers, governors and Sheinbaum.
The report says Rocha’s return had drawn renewed attention because the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he conspired with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to export narcotics in exchange for bribes. El País attributes that allegation to the U.S. case, which also names former members of Rocha’s administration and other officials. The article says Rocha has denied involvement in a separate episode surrounding the 2024 killing of Héctor Cuén and the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada; those details are likewise presented as claims and disputed accounts.
El País links the political turmoil to the recent arrest of Fausto Corrales, whom Mexico’s federal prosecutors allegedly connected to the Zambada kidnapping and the concealment of Cuén’s killing, and to the U.S. custody status of former Sinaloa security secretary Gerardo Mérida. The report says Sheinbaum planned to address the matter on Monday. It does not report a court decision resolving the allegations against Rocha.