Mexico’s Sheinbaum condemns governor’s return amid US drug charges

Mexico’s president has said it was “reckless” and “not appropriate” for a Mexican governor to return to his post while facing a domestic investigation following United States drug-trafficking allegations.

Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, 77, of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, which is located in the northwest of the country, had requested another temporary, indefinite leave of absence from his post, just days after defiantly reclaiming office for a day.

Now, however, he faces a backlash from his Morena party, the same political party as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Morena asserted that its national leadership had no foreknowledge of Rocha’s return, calling it his “personal decision”. The Senate bloc urged restraint and respect while the investigation unfolds, while Morena governors issued a joint statement asserting 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 an April US drug-trafficking indictment. Rocha is the first sitting governor in Mexico to face drug-trafficking charges by the US.

Rocha has denied the charges, calling them a politically motivated attack. He stepped down for three months before announcing on X on Friday that he had resumed power with a “clear conscience” and his “head held high”.

“I had no prior knowledge that he wanted to return,” Sheinbaum said at her daily morning press conference on Monday.

“I don’t know what led the governor — who is once again on leave — to return. I haven’t spoken to him, nor do I intend to,” the Mexican president added.