Sinaloa Governor Rocha Moya Takes 30-Day Leave After U.S. Indictment; Yeraldine Bonilla Installed as Interim Governor; FGR Finds No Extradition Basis

In the most consequential immediate fallout from the April 29 U.S. Department of Justice indictment, Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya on the evening of May 2 submitted a formal video message to the Sinaloa state congress requesting a 30-day temporary leave of absence. The state legislature approved his request and designated Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde as interim governor — the first woman to govern Sinaloa. Culiacán Mayor Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil — also charged in the DOJ indictment — similarly stepped down temporarily. Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) announced it had reviewed the U.S. extradition request documentation and found insufficient evidence to support provisional detention of any of the named defendants — a prerequisite for extradition proceedings under the Mexico-U.S. bilateral extradition treaty. This formally confirmed President Sheinbaum's position, stated at the Workers' Day mañanera on May 1: 'There is a principle called sovereignty, and that isn't negotiated.' Sheinbaum reiterated that Mexico will not extradite Rocha Moya or any named official without 'irrefutable evidence,' and that if domestic evidence is established, the accused would be tried under Mexican law. Rocha Moya denied the charges, calling the indictment 'slander against Morena.' The Sinaloa case — the first in which a sitting Mexican governor has been indicted by a foreign government — compounded the existing CIA-Chihuahua sovereignty dispute, creating what commentators called an unprecedented dual sovereignty crisis ahead of the May 25 USMCA formal negotiating round. The Washington Post ran an opinion piece saying the indictment 'severely tests Mexico's president.' CBS News and PBS NewsHour confirmed the step-down across their May 2 broadcasts.