Day 689 — Rocha Moya Returns as Sinaloa Governor, Defying US DOJ Indictment

On August 21, 2026 (Day 689, Friday) at 12:07 p.m., Rubén Rocha Moya announced his reincorporation as constitutional governor of Sinaloa, ending a 112-day leave he had requested May 1-2 after an April 29 U.S. District Court (Southern District of New York) indictment charged him and nine other current and former Sinaloa officials with conspiracy to import narcotics, weapons possession, and institutional protection of the Sinaloa Cartel's "Los Chapitos" faction. Rocha rejected the charges and returned without first consulting the federal government or Morena party leadership; interim governor Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde, who had held the post since May 2, stepped aside and returned to the Secretaría General de Gobierno as Rocha took protest. The move came a day after the U.S. reiterated that "the Sinaloa Cartel could not operate without the help of corrupt officials."