Sinaloa governor returns after US cartel case roils Mexico ties
Why it matters: Ruben Rocha Moya is the first sitting Mexican governor charged by US prosecutors, testing security cooperation.
Ruben Rocha Moya returned to office Friday as governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state after more than three months on leave following U.S. drug trafficking charges. Rocha, 77, of the ruling Morena party, said he was resuming his duties with a “clear conscience.” U.S. prosecutors in April accused Rocha and nine current and former officials of conspiring with Los Chapitos, a Sinaloa Cartel faction, to help move drugs into the United States in exchange for bribes and political support. Mexican authorities have said they found no evidence backing the allegations, but the attorney general's investigation remains open. Morena and Mexico's interior ministry both distanced themselves from Rocha's decision to return.