An accused drug trafficker has resumed his post as governor of Sinaloa in Mexico, despite being a wanted fugitive of the U.S. Department of Justice. The move comes as tensions continue to rise between the U.S. Government and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has been actively defending the politician.
On Friday morning, Ruben Rocha Moya announced that he was returning to work after several weeks on leave following the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement that he had been criminally indicted for his role in the Sinaloa Cartel. In a prepared statement shared on social media, Rocha Moya claimed that he had done what was needed of him and cooperated with Mexican authorities to prove his innocence.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in April the indictment against Rocha Moya and nine of his closest political allies in the state. They are accused of drug conspiracy and weapons charges. At the time, rather than help with arrest and extradition, Sheinbaum publicly defended Rocha Moya, who is from the same political party — MORENA.
According to Sheinbaum, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Rocha Moya, and the public indictment was politically motivated by the U.S. far right as a way to damage the MORENA party. Sheinbaum’s move sparked tension with the U.S. government, which has been pushing Mexico to fight drug cartels.
In an apparent move to avoid questions over Rocha Moya’s return to power, Sheinbaum announced on Friday that she was not going to her daily news conference because she was sick with flu-like symptoms.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.