Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya is at the center of a binational political and legal crisis following allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding a purported conspiracy to traffic drugs and illegally possess weapons. In response to these developments, the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) party has formally filed a motion for impeachment before Congress against the governor and nine other Sinaloan officials and former officials, including Culiacán Mayor Juan de Dios Gámez Villamil and Senator Enrique Inzunza.
The governor has met the accusations with absolute denial. During a tour of the Navolato municipality, Rocha Moya told local media: “On our part, there is absolutely nothing to fear. He who owes nothing, owes nothing.” The governor dismissed any possibility of stepping down, asserting that he does not fear the law and that every official named in the allegations must “stand on their own merits.”
The current accusations have revived a 53-page dossier filed on August 23, 2021, by Mexican opposition leaders—Alejandro Moreno (PRI), Marko Cortés (PAN), and Jesús Zambrano (PRD)—to international bodies such as the OAS, the U.S. National Security Council, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The document details how, during the June 6, 2021, election, armed groups operated with military precision to dismantle the opposition, including the kidnapping and beating of José Alberto Salas Beltrán, the PRI’s organizational secretary in Culiacán, who was held captive for 50 hours.
Mario Zamora Gastélum, a former gubernatorial candidate, told EL UNIVERSAL that the election was a “criminal operation.” He recounted that at 7:00 a.m. on election day, the mayoral candidate for Badiraguato informed him she would withdraw in favor of the Morena party following the kidnapping of her brother. Testimonies gathered in the report indicate that armed squads patrolled the streets, warning citizens: “If Rocha Moya doesn't win, we are going to kill you all.”
From the federal government, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has called for national unity. Speaking at the Centro Cultural del México Contemporáneo, Sheinbaum warned that “in the face of external pressure, what must exist is national unity; anyone who does not want that is, well, siding with the outsider.” Her stance has been backed by labor leaders such as Tereso Medina Ramírez (CTM), who emphasized that national sovereignty “is not up for negotiation.”
The scope of the U.S. investigation appears to extend beyond local matters. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee warned on X that the case “is only the beginning,” comparing the situation to the pursuit of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and stating, “From Maduro to Rocha Moya, if you are implicated in drug trafficking to the United States, we will hold you accountable.” Derek S. Maltz, a former acting director of the DEA, described the case as “crucial to the strategy for dismantling the cartels.”
Constitutional lawyer Javier Martín Reyes explained to El Financiero that the impeachment process is an essential legal requirement to pursue criminal charges against sitting officials. As the crisis escalates, S&P Global Ratings has placed Sinaloa’s credit rating on special review with negative implications. Despite this, 18 municipal presidents from the state have issued a joint statement expressing institutional support for the governor, arguing that the Attorney General's Office has not been provided with sufficient evidence by U.S. authorities.
