Sheinbaum Demands 'Irrefutable Proof' as U.S. DOJ Indicts Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and 9 Officials on Cartel Charges

At her April 30 mañanera — held on Día del Niño — President Claudia Sheinbaum issued a firm response to the U.S. Department of Justice's unprecedented April 29 indictment of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other state officials on drug trafficking conspiracy charges. The DOJ charged Rocha Moya, Culiacán Mayor Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil (age 41), Senator and former Sinaloa Secretary General Enrique Inzunza Cazárez (age 53), former Secretary of Administration and Finance Enrique Díaz Vega (age 50), and six other officials with: conspiracy with 'Los Chapitos' (the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquín Guzmán López) to import fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States; shielding cartel members from investigation, arrest, and prosecution; accepting bribes; and receiving cartel electoral support through kidnapping and intimidation of political rivals. The charges represent the first time the U.S. DOJ has indicted a sitting Mexican governor. Sheinbaum declared at the mañanera: 'If they present irrefutable evidence it will proceed. If there are no clear proofs, it is evident that the objective of these accusations is political. Under no circumstances will we allow the intrusion or interference of a foreign government in decisions that belong exclusively to the Mexican people.' She stated: 'This had never happened before, that they request the extradition of a governor in office' — and that the Attorney General's Office (FGR) would investigate and advise the Foreign Ministry (SRE). Mexico's Foreign Ministry issued a parallel statement saying the extradition request documents 'do not contain sufficient evidence to establish the responsibility of the individuals' targeted. Sheinbaum emphasized: 'We will not cover up anyone who has committed a crime' but demanded the same legal standard of 'irrefutable proof' she applies domestically. The charges arrived amid the ongoing CIA-Chihuahua sovereignty crisis and represent a major new escalation in US-Mexico tensions ahead of the July 2026 USMCA review deadline.