The governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Ruben Rocha Moya, has returned to his post despite facing drug trafficking accusations from the United States government.
On Friday, Rocha announced on social media that he had resumed his duties after taking a leave of absence on May 1.
He used the post to maintain his innocence after the US charged him with protecting a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for assistance with his political career.
"Today, I return to my responsibilities as governor of Sinaloa with a clear conscience and my head held high, with the power of the truth on our side," Rocha said.
"Let there be no doubt: Now and always, I will defend — relentlessly and without compromise — my honour and that of my family."
Rocha is one of several Mexican officials who have faced criminal charges and other punitive measures under the second administration of US President Donald Trump.
Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has sought to crack down on crime across the Western Hemisphere, including by labelling gangs such as the Sinaloa Cartel as "foreign terrorist organisations". He has also threatened military action in Mexico, accusing the country's cartels of "orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere" and depicting the Mexican government as overrun by criminal elements.
On April 29, the Trump administration unsealed a criminal indictment against 10 Mexican officials and businessmen. Those named included a senator representing Sinaloa, a public security secretary for the state, the mayor of the city of Culiacan, and several high-ranking police leaders. Rocha was among those indicted.
Previously a senator, Rocha is considered a senior figure in the left-wing Morena party, which has become a dominant force in Mexican politics. His relationship with the party's founder, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, stretches back decades.
In the indictment, the Trump administration accused Rocha of winning his 2021 gubernatorial election by collaborating with The Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by the children of imprisoned kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to court filings, The Chapitos stole ballots for Rocha's election rivals and kidnapped opposition members.
In return, US prosecutors alleged that Rocha allowed The Chapitos to "install other corrupt officials in positions of power" in the state of Sinaloa.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, also a Morena party leader, has called on the US government to provide definitive proof in the case.
"No Mexican citizen — regardless of political party affiliation, or whether they belong to a party at all, or whether they are a public official — should be denied a fair trial. If they are accused, there must be evidence to support that accusation," Sheinbaum said in May.
She also suggested the Mexican government should handle the case. "What are we asking for? Simply: Do you have evidence against the governor who is on leave? Present it, so the prosecutor's office can conduct its investigation."
Rocha described his decision to temporarily leave office as a means of making himself available to the Mexican Attorney General's Office, which opened an investigation to assess the validity of the US indictment.
In Friday's social media post, Rocha suggested he had been exonerated by the ongoing proceedings.
"After 112 days of investigation, the Attorney General's Office has already announced at a news conference that there is not a shred of evidence to support any claim of my involvement in criminal conduct," Rocha wrote. "In other words, I have committed no crime under our country's constitutional and legal framework."
He also praised President Sheinbaum for protecting Mexico's sovereignty against "the machinations of foreign interests and the treachery of the far-right opposition".
However, Mexico's Secretariat of the Interior, a federal agency, appeared to contradict some of Rocha's remarks in a subsequent statement. It clarified that the Attorney General's Office "maintains open investigations related to the 10 individuals named by the United States Department of Justice, including the governor of Sinaloa". The secretariat also described Rocha's return to public office as a "personal decision".
The statement nonetheless reiterated the Sheinbaum administration's call for the US government to be forthcoming about the evidence against Rocha.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly requested that the United States Department of Justice provide the corresponding evidence to support the allegations made," the secretariat said. "The Secretariat of the Interior reaffirms its respect for the powers of the responsible institutions and for due process in the development of the investigation."
