Mexican governor accused by US of collaborating with drug traffickers leaves post to face investigation

The Mexican governor close to President Claudia Sheinbaum accused of ties to drug trafficking by the United States, Ruben Rocha Moya, surprisingly announced that he is leaving office temporarily to facilitate investigations by the Mexican Attorney General's Office.

The governor of the state of Sinaloa (northwest), who is also close to former leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, described as "false and malicious" the accusations of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York, which requested his capture for extradition purposes.

"I inform the people of Sinaloa that today I presented before the State Congress the application for a temporary license (separation) to the position of governor," he said in an announcement broadcast in a YouTube video shortly before midnight.

Culiacan mayor also leaves office

The United States transmitted to the Mexican government the request for Rocha Moya to be detained along with nine other ruling party politicians. One of them is Juan de Dios Gámez, mayor of Culiacán the capital of Sinaloa, who also announced that he was leaving office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office accuses the governor and the other nine politicians of having associated with the Sinaloa cartel "to distribute enormous quantities of narcotics in the United States." The removal from office of these two officials paves the way for them to be investigated, since their positions granted them immunity and required a legislative process known as "desafuero" to be summoned by the authorities.

The resignations are known a few hours after the Mexican Attorney General's Office pointed out that there is no evidence to detain them, and that Sheinbaum herself said that her government will not accept interventions from foreign governments.

Rocha Moya's name came up in "Chapo" Guzman's trap to arrest "Mayo" Zambada

Almost two years ago, when Ismael "Mayo" Zambada, one of the heads of the Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in the United States, Rocha Moya's name was involved in the case. From a U.S. jail, the capo denounced that he had been tricked and "kidnapped" by the sons of his former criminal partner Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, who summoned him to an alleged meeting headed by Rocha Moya, to iron out differences between Sinaloa politicians.

The governor quickly came out to reject any connection with drug traffickers and argued that on the day of the alleged meeting he was in the United States.

However, the Mexican Attorney General's Office, currently in charge of analyzing Washington's request, announced that so far, there is not enough evidence against the accused and said it will ask the United States for more elements.

"There is no reference, there is no motive, there is no foundation, there is no evidence that allows us to appreciate why the urgency of provisional detention," said at a press conference on Friday afternoon Raul Jimenez, from the international affairs area of the attorney general's office.

Sheinbaum demands "irrefutable proof" and rejects interferences

The complaint against Rocha Moya has shaken Sheinbaum's government and her leftist Morena party, as it is the first time a sitting governor or senator has been judicially accused of being linked to drug trafficking.

On Thursday, the president sharply rejected the accusations and asked the United States to present "irrefutable" evidence. On Friday afternoon, at a public event in the southern state of Chiapas, the president also warned that she will not allow foreign governments to violate Mexican sovereignty, although without referring explicitly to the United States or to this case.

"No foreign government can enter our territory. Because here we are Mexicans who defend the homeland. That is why any foreign government runs up against principles," she stressed.