Mexico’s Sheinbaum condemns governor’s return amid US drug accusations | Drug news
Now, however, he faces backlash from his Morena party, the same political party as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Morena stated that its national leadership had no prior knowledge of Rocha’s return, calling it a “personal decision.” The Senate block urged moderation and respect while the investigation unfolds, while the Morena governors issued a joint statement stating that “personal or group political projects have no place” when the country’s interests are at stake.
The comments follow Rocha’s 112-day absence due to drug trafficking in the United States in April accusation. Rocha is the first sitting governor of Mexico to face drug trafficking charges from the United States.
Rocha has denied the charges and called them a politically motivated attack. He resigned for three months before announcing on Friday in X that he had returned to power with a “clear conscience” and “head held high.”
That didn’t last long, as he then applied for a license.
“I had no prior knowledge that he wanted to return,” Sheinbaum said at his daily morning news conference Monday.
“I don’t know what led the governor, who is on leave again, to return. I have not spoken with him nor do I intend to,” added the Mexican president.
On Saturday, in an apparent rebuke to Rocha who did not mention him by name, Sheinbaum wrote: “No personal interest can ever come before the interests of the people and the nation. Mexico deserves public servants who understand that positions are temporary, but responsibility to the nation is eternal.”
The Sinaloa state Congress is expected to name an interim governor this week.
US accusations against Mexican officials inflame diplomatic tensions
Since returning to power for a second term in 2025, US President Donald Trump has sought to crack down on crime across the Western Hemisphere, even labeling gangs like the Sinaloa Cartel “foreign terrorist organizations.”
Trump has also threatened military action in Mexico. He has accused the country’s cartels of “orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere” and has described the Mexican government as invaded by criminal elements.
united states federal prosecutors first loaded Rocha on April 29 with bribes, in addition to protecting and conspiring with a faction of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for smuggling drugs – including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine – into the United States to help him with his political career.
The “bombshell” criminal accusation was also unleashed against nine other Mexican officials and businessmen. Among them were a senator representing Sinaloa, a state public security secretary, the mayor of the city of Culiacán and several high-ranking police leaders.
The allegations fueled new tensions between the governments of the United States and Mexico. Sheinbaum has denied protecting Rocha, but rejected Washington’s request to arrest and extradite the defendants without credible evidence, insisting that any prosecution should take place in Mexico.
Prosecutors said the incentives dated back to Rocha’s 2021 election campaign, when members of the cartel’s “Chapitos” faction allegedly helped ensure your victory. According to the indictment, cartel agents kidnapped and threatened opposition candidates and stole ballots cast by their rivals to help ensure their victory.
Rocha had run twice for governor of Sinaloa before his successful 2021 bid.
Rocha, a staunch ally of Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has denied wrongdoing and described the charges as politically motivated. Although he previously stepped aside so he could cooperate with the Mexican investigation without relying on the constitutional immunity inherent to his office, it remains a point of contention among Mexican jurists whether his previous license actually stripped him of legal protection, and whether his current attempt to step aside indefinitely would produce the same result.
After the indictment, the mayor of Culiacán, capital of Sinaloa, and the state’s deputy attorney general resigned, while two former top state officials surrendered to US authorities.
Sinaloa has suffered two years of violent fighting between rival groups within its local drug cartel.
