Day 759: Rocha Moya Defies US Chapitos Allegations, Resumes Sinaloa Governorship After 112-Day Leave

Rubén Rocha Moya resumed his post as Governor of Sinaloa on August 21, 2026, ending a 112-day leave he had requested May 1 to respond to US Department of Justice accusations — conspiracy to traffic drugs, bribery, and institutional protection of Los Chapitos — filed in the April 29-30 SDNY indictment that also targeted nine other officials. Announcing his return on social media, Rocha said he came back 'con la frente limpia y en alto' ('with a clean, raised forehead') and 'as an ordinary citizen, without relying on constitutional immunity,' asserting Mexico's FGR found no evidence to support the US charges. Mexico's Interior Secretariat (Segob) and his own Morena party both publicly distanced themselves, calling the return a 'personal decision' rather than one backed by the federal government; Segob said the US had still not answered its repeated requests for supporting evidence. A US State Department spokesperson responded the same day that the Sinaloa Cartel 'could not operate without the help of corrupt officials.' Rocha's term runs through October 31, 2027; critics questioned whether resuming office now shields him with gubernatorial immunity (fuero) from further prosecution.