Overview
- Hours after briefly returning to the governor’s office on Friday, Rubén Rocha Moya filed a second request for an indefinite temporary leave from the Sinaloa governorship.
- The Diputación Permanente of the state Congress was convened to vote on the license and to appoint either a provisional governor now or trigger a full congressional choice for an interino if the absence exceeds 30 days.
- The U.S. Department of Justice has formally accused Rocha and nine other current or former Sinaloa officials of providing protection to the Cártel de Sinaloa faction known as Los Chapitos and Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República continues to investigate.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly criticized the move as personal ambition over the nation, said she learned of his return from his post on X, and Morena has distanced itself while opposition parties press for juicio político and even a disappearance of powers.
- The rapid back-and-forth leaves Sinaloa with short-term uncertainty over who governs, raises questions about Rocha’s lasting political influence, and could affect state governance, the 2027 gubernatorial calendar, and bilateral legal and diplomatic ties with the United States.