Two political allies of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party have resigned from their official posts following a US indictment linking them to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and Juan de Dios Gámez Mendivil, mayor of the state capital Culiacan, both stepped down on Saturday, although they denied the allegations against them.
Rocha Moya is the highest-ranking official named in the US indictment, where he is accused of protecting the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and helping smuggle drugs into the United States, allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes.
“My conscience is clear,” Rocha Moya said. He said, “To my people and my family, I can look you in the eye because I have never betrayed you and never will.”
He said he left the post as a temporary leave of absence to defend himself against “false and malicious” allegations and to cooperate with the Mexican government’s investigation.
Rocha Moya has alleged that the charges against him are an attempt to damage the left-leaning Morena party.
Rocha Moya said, “I will not allow myself to be used to harm the movement to which I belong – which has improved the lives of millions of Mexican men and women.”
Sheinbaum demands ‘concrete’ evidence
The indictment of 10 Mexican officials in the US comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration tries to pressure the Mexican government to crack down on drug trafficking and cartels.
Last week, the Mexican government expressed concern about the presence of two US agents, reportedly CIA personnel, who participated in a drug bust operation without government permission. The agents died in a car accident during the operation.
President Sheinbaum has carefully tried to balance between the interests of his progressive Morena Party and the demands coming from Washington.
Sheinbaum responded to the indictment on Friday, saying she was not convinced of the case against Rocha, demanding that the US present “concrete and irrefutable” evidence against her.
But he announced that Mexican authorities would investigate the cases and gather their information, adding that authorities would first have to prosecute in Mexico.
Sheinbaum said, “We will never subjugate ourselves because this is a matter of the dignity of the Mexican people.”
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah