The capital of Sinaloa is currently navigating a crisis of security and governance following the departure of Governor Rubén Rocha Moya. Over the weekend, waves of violence left seven people dead and four others wounded across various parts of Culiacán, according to reports from El Universal.
The violence reached a breaking point early Sunday morning at the Cuatro Ríos shopping mall, located near the State Attorney General's Office. Three men were killed and a woman was wounded during armed confrontations at the site. Military authorities discovered one body inside a vehicle and two others inside the mall, alongside an automatic weapon.
On Saturday, the violence claimed the lives of four men, including two 17-year-olds. Among the victims was Andrey “N,” a reading room mediator, who was targeted with automatic weapons while driving along Obrero Mundial Boulevard. Additionally, in the community of Campo el Diez, the body of 17-year-old Ángel Leonel “N” was found; he had been reported kidnapped just a day earlier.
The political landscape fractured last Friday when Rocha Moya requested a leave of absence following allegations from Washington regarding purported links to the ‘Los Chapitos’ faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. In his stead, the state Congress appointed Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde as interim governor. In her inaugural speech, she dismissed the accusations against her mentor as “false” and “malicious,” reiterating her confidence in the former governor's innocence.
From Mexico City, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed this Monday that Rocha Moya is receiving security provided by the federal government following a risk assessment conducted by the National Security Cabinet. Regarding the former governor's legal status, Legal Counsel Luisa María Alcalde explained during the daily ‘mañanera’ press conference that the United States has filed a request for “provisional detention for extradition purposes.”
According to El Financiero, Alcalde specified that the Attorney General's Office (FGR) determined the request lacks the necessary elements to prove urgency, noting that no evidence was provided to justify a risk of flight or obstruction of justice. President Sheinbaum rejected the idea that her administration faces a dilemma regarding the extradition of Rocha Moya, insisting that the FGR will only act if presented with “conclusive and irrefutable” evidence.
The President emphasized that her administration's defense is centered on national sovereignty, questioning the lack of confidentiality by U.S. authorities in leaking the request. As uncertainty persists, daily life in Culiacán remains under a tense calm, with semi-empty streets and military checkpoints, while residents witness the fall of a governor whose administration has been marred by investigations into illicit wealth.
According to El Universal, Rocha Moya reported an annual income of 2.3 million pesos, while other close officials, such as former Finance Secretary Enrique Díaz Vega, reported cash purchases of land and luxury vehicles, including a Lexus valued at nearly 2 million pesos. Amidst this climate of violence, hundreds of devotees commemorated the 117th anniversary of the death of Jesús Malverde this weekend, holding a procession in front of the Government Palace accompanied by banda music, tequila, and dollars—an event that highlights the complex cultural fabric of a state struggling to process the departure of its highest political authority.
