The Mexican governor of Sinaloa, who made headlines this week after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a criminal indictment against him, has taken a temporary leave from his post pending the outcome of the scandal. Other public officials from Sinaloa, also named in the indictment, asked for leave.
Late Friday night, Governor Ruben Rocha Moya announced he was stepping down from his post on a temporary basis. The move was immediately accepted by the Sinaloa Congress, making his leave official until further notice.
“I hereby inform the people of Sinaloa that, today, I submitted to the State Congress a request for a temporary leave of absence from the office of Governor,” Rocha Moya said during a streamed statement published by his government. “I do so for the duration of the investigative process, and I act out of my deep republican conviction.”
According to Rocha Moya, he aimed to address the allegations levied against him by the U.S. Department of Justice because he refused to allow the case to be used against his political party. As Breitbart Texas reported, earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a criminal indictment against Moya and 10 other current and former government officials who had allegedly worked hand in hand with the Sinaloa Cartel to protect the criminal organization in exchange for money and political power.
Rocha Moya’s timing of his request for leave sparked widespread speculation about an imminent arrest by authorities. No arrest has occurred as of publication time.
The move sparked widespread speculation about the political ramifications since Rocha Moya is a very close ally of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the founder of the country’s ruling party MORENA. As Breitbart Texas has reported, other members of MORENA have been tied to criminal organizations such as the Gulf Cartel, Cartel Jalisco New Generation, and others.
The indictment and Rocha Moya’s leave come at a time of increasing pressure from the U.S. Government over Mexico’s refusal to eradicate terrorist drug cartels. This week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed that the U.S. case against Rocha Moya was political and that her government was reviewing the extradition request. The response appeared to be a no, hidden in legalese, as Sheinbaum claimed that the U.S. government had not provided Irrefutable proof that Rocha Moya had done anything wrong.
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.