Rubén Rocha Moya again denied allegations of supporting the cartel, saying he had taken a “temporary leave” for self-defense.
The governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state has temporarily resigned, days after he was indicted by U.S. authorities on large-scale drug trafficking charges that further strained relations between the two countries.
In a short video statement posted late Friday, Ruben Rocha Moya again denied any wrongdoing, but said he was taking a “temporary leave” to protect himself from the U.S. allegations.
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The indictment, unsealed by U.S. prosecutors earlier this week, alleges that Rocha Moya and nine other officials directly supported the Sinaloa drug cartel’s smuggling operations in exchange for political support and bribes.
That support included members of a powerful cartel that kidnapped and threatened opposition candidates in the 2021 election and stole paper ballots cast for candidates opposed to Rocha Moya, who was charged in the indictment.
Rocha Moya is a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s progressive Morena party.
“My conscience is clear,” Rocha Moya said in a video message. “To my people and my family, I can look you in the eye because I have never failed you. And I never will.”
One of the other officials indicted by the United States, Juan de Dios Gamez Mendivil, the mayor of Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, also announced his resignation on Saturday. He denies the charges.
Sheinbaum also withdrew the charges as he tries to navigate strained relations with President Donald Trump’s administration.
He said Thursday that the government has not been provided with any concrete evidence to support its claims, suggesting the information provided in the indictment is insufficient.
“My position on these events is this: a defense of truth, justice and sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said.
He added that even if “clear and irrefutable evidence” is presented, the United States must proceed “in accordance with the laws under our jurisdiction.”
Mr. Sheinbaum argued that the government was not trying to “protect those who committed crimes.”
“But even in the absence of hard evidence, it is clear that the purpose of these charges by the (U.S.) Department of Justice is political,” she added.
Tense relations between the US and Mexico
Since taking office in January of last year, the Trump administration has increased pressure on Mexico to do more to tackle immigration and drug smuggling.
This approach involves the US government imposing a number of tariffs as leverage against the Mexican government.
The U.S. State Department also designated several drug cartels in Latin America as “foreign terrorist organizations,” an unusual move in line with the administration’s more military approach to Latin America.
The administration has widely argued that criminal organizations are motivated in part by efforts to destabilize the United States, a claim that many longtime experts reject.
Mr. Sheinbaum has taken a cautious line with President Trump, pledging to protect Mexico’s sovereignty while increasing cooperation on anti-cartel efforts. Notably, she is adamantly opposed to the possibility of U.S. military action on Mexican soil.
But experts say indicting elected officials in Mexico would represent a major escalation in the Trump administration’s strategy.
Vanda Felbab Brown, an expert on non-state armed groups at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, D.C., said in an interview with Al Jazeera this week that this approach was “for a long time considered a very big step, almost a ‘nuclear option.'”
She predicted more charges were likely to be filed in the United States.
