Rubén Rocha Moya, the Mexican governor indicted by the United States this week, mentioned Friday night time that he would briefly step down from his publish, increasing the political fallout from accusations that he aided a robust drug cartel for years.
Mr. Rocha, 76, mentioned in a two-minute recorded statement late Friday that he was harmless however would take “a brief go away of absence” as governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa to give attention to defending himself from the accusations.
“I can look my individuals and my household within the eye as a result of I’ve not betrayed them and I by no means, ever will,” he mentioned. “And I’ll exhibit that firmly when the justice establishments of our nation require it.
Mr. Rocha’s case has dominated the nationwide dialog in Mexico since Manhattan prosecutors unsealed an indictment on Wednesday accusing him and 9 different present and former Mexican officers of a yearslong conspiracy to guard the Sinaloa Cartel in change for bribes and political help. The cartel has long dominated Sinaloaa state of three million on Mexico’s western coast, and prosecutors portrayed Mr. Rocha as central to the group’s impunity since his election in 2021.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico has responded warily to the U.S. indictment, refusing to order Mr. Rocha’s arrest as American prosecutors requested, saying they lacked sufficient proof. She mentioned that Mexico’s lawyer normal’s workplace would as a substitute examine Mr. Rocha.
The indictment has put Ms. Sheinbaum in a troublesome place. Mr. Rocha is a distinguished member of her occasion, Morena, however the Trump administration has been placing intense stress on her to crack down on cartels and corruption.
Mr. Rocha’s determination to take a go away of absence as a substitute of resigning had a transparent benefit for him. As an elected official, Mr. Rocha has immunity from felony conviction, which have to be stripped by Mexico’s Congress if he’s to face fees. His go away of absence permits him to step down from his place whereas retaining his immunity.
