BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 21. Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha returned to office on Friday after more than three months of leave following US drug trafficking charges alleging links to the Sinaloa Cartel, a case that could further strain relations between Mexico and the United States.
Rocha, 77, a member of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, said he was resuming his duties after Mexican authorities found no evidence supporting the accusations against him.
In a statement posted on X, Rocha denied wrongdoing and portrayed the US case as a politically motivated attack on Mexican sovereignty and the political movement led by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Mexico has so far declined to act on US efforts to take Rocha into custody. Mexican authorities have said Washington has not provided sufficient evidence to justify issuing a domestic arrest warrant or extraditing the governor.
US prosecutors indicted Rocha in April alongside nine other current and former officials. The case represented an unusual expansion of Washington’s anti-cartel efforts beyond suspected drug trafficking leaders to include a serving senior Mexican politician.
Prosecutors allege that Rocha and the other defendants conspired with Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, to facilitate drug trafficking into the United States in exchange for political support and bribes.
Rocha has repeatedly rejected the accusations. He temporarily stepped aside in early May while Mexican authorities reviewed the case.
Announcing his return on Friday, the governor said he was resuming his responsibilities with his “head held high”.
The US State Department did not immediately comment on Rocha’s return to office.
