The governor of the state of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, announced his decision to request a temporary license from his position on Saturday, May 2, as an investigation begins against him by the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Mexico due to US accusations of alleged links to drug trafficking. This same day, the local Congress endorsed her removal from office for a period of more than 30 days and appointed Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde as interim governor.

First modification: 05/02/2026 - 18:01 Last modification: 05/02/2026 - 19:53

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Under pressure from the United States and before the start of a formal investigation by the Attorney General's Office, Rubén Rocha Moya expressed this Saturday his intention to temporarily retire from his position as governor of Sinaloa.

"Today I presented to the State Congress the request for a temporary license to the position of governor, while the investigation process lasts. I do so from my deep Republican conviction. I also do the above with the purpose of facilitating the actions of the Mexican authorities in the aforementioned investigation process," said Rocha Moya in a video published on social networks on Saturday, May 2.

The governor of Sinaloa was accused on Wednesday, April 29, of alleged links to the Sinaloa Cartel by the Prosecutor's Office of the Southern District of New York, which did not present evidence publicly.

According to the accusations, Rubén Rocha Moya would have helped import drugs into the United States in exchange for bribes and political favors. The governor of Sinaloa denies it.

In any case, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, affirms that Washington requested the extradition of Rocha Moya.

“I can see my people and my family in front of them because I have not betrayed them and I will never betray them, and I will firmly demonstrate that when the justice institutions of this country require it,” he said.

“I am not going to allow myself to be used to harm the movement to which I belong and that has changed the lives of millions of Mexicans for the better,” added Rocha Moya, a member of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), party of current president Claudia Sheinbaum.

Rubén Rocha Moya is a representative of the left in the state of Sinaloa, who has governed since 2021 and is also considered close to former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Who takes his place?

Hours later, in an extraordinary session of the local Congress, the removal of Rocha Moya from office for a period of more than 30 days was approved and Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde was appointed as interim governor.

With this appointment, Bonilla Valverde becomes the first woman to assume the governorship of Sinaloa.

The graduate in Social Work from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, who has experience in the social and educational field, has participated in child care activities and worked as an educational assistant for indigenous children in the agricultural sector.

In addition, she was a local deputy for the Morena party during the LXIII Legislature of the Sinaloa Congress (2018-2021).

Subsequently, she served as Undersecretary of Studies, Projects and Development of the State Government between November 2021 and March 2024, during the Rocha Moya Administration. Also, he temporarily held the position of the state Secretary of Public Security between August and September 2025.

In 2024, nominated by the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico, she returned to the local Congress as a representative of the LXV Legislature.

Ten defendants in total

Among the other nine accused by the US is Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil, mayor of Culiacán, a city in the state of Sinaloa. He also requested a provisional license, which was approved on May 1, and was temporarily replaced by Miriam Ramos Villarreal.

The former Secretary of Public Security of Sinaloa, Gerardo Mérida Sánchez; and the former commander of the Culiacán municipal police, Juan Valenzuela Millán, were also identified by the Prosecutor's Office of the Southern District of New York.

Finally, the other state officials who are part of the list are Enrique Inzunza Cázarez, Enrique Díaz Vega, Dámaso Castro Saavedra, Marco Antonio Almanza Avilés, Alberto Jorge Contreras Núñez and José Antonio Dionisio Hipólito.

Mexican Prosecutor's Office asks the United States for evidence

According to the Attorney General's Office of Mexico, what the US authorities requested was not a formal extradition, but rather the provisional detention of the accused as the first step in the process.

However, there is not enough evidence to carry out this precautionary measure, the control body said.

"There is no reference, there is no reason, there is no foundation, there is no evidence that allows us to appreciate the reason for the urgency of the provisional detention," said this Friday the head of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Competence Control Raúl Armando Jiménez.

He also stated that he will request "all the necessary evidence, arguments, reports, documents" from the US authorities in charge.

Tension rises with the United States

Following the accusations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo asked the United States on Thursday to present “irrefutable” evidence of the case, stating: "We are not going to cover up anyone who has committed a crime."

He stated that, in the event that the Mexican prosecutor's office finds “elements constituting a crime,” it will consider the extradition request from the United States in accordance with the law.

At the same time, he did not rule out that there was political motivation on the part of the United States behind the case.

"If there is no clear evidence, it is evident that the objective of these accusations by the Department of Justice is political," the president said in her press conference.

The president stated that the only evidence presented so far is a sheet with alleged bribe payments to politicians.

"This had never happened before. Never, in history, has a Prosecutor's Office or the Department of Justice of the United States requested an extradition order for a sitting governor or a sitting municipal president, or a sitting senator," the president explained.

With AFP, Reuters and EFE

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