Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha seeks leave again amid US drug trafficking charges

Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha has again asked to step away from office, just days after returning to his post following a more than three-month leave prompted by US drug-trafficking charges.

Rocha, 77, sought the leave on Saturday amid growing political pressure over his return, reported Reuters. His decision to reclaim office had drawn criticism from Mexico’s government and his own Morena party, which accused him of putting personal interests ahead of the public.

President Claudia Sheinbaum added to the pressure without naming Rocha directly. In a post on X, she wrote that “power without principles becomes arrogance” and that “no personal interest can ever be above those of the people or the Nation.”

Rocha echoed the message in his own X post, saying: “Sinaloa, the nation, and the transformation movement are above all else.”

The governor returned on Friday after spending more than three months on leave following US federal charges accusing him and nine other current and former officials of working with a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Los Chapitos. Prosecutors in April alleged that the officials helped the cartel traffic drugs into the United States in return for political support and bribes.

The case marked a rare expansion of US anti-cartel action to a senior sitting Mexican politician. Rocha has rejected the allegations, calling the US case a politically motivated attack on Sheinbaum’s movement. Days after the indictment was unsealed in April, he said he would take a “temporary leave of absence” to focus on defending himself.

Mexico’s government has also said Washington had not provided enough evidence to justify his arrest or extradition, while opening its own investigation into the allegations. His brief return to office, however, exposed divisions within the ruling party and renewed questions over his political future.