A heavy deployment of the Navy and State Police secured the Sinaloa Government Palace this Thursday, given the political crisis facing Governor Rubén Rocha Moya following the indictment filed in the United States for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. As LPO exclusively reported, concern is growing within the governor’s inner circle about the possibility that the United States will implement a more aggressive pressure tactic, including the possibility of a capture or extradition operation similar to the strategy Donald Trump used against Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
Federal and state forces reinforced access points, perimeters, and checkpoints around the Executive headquarters in Culiacán, though no official explanation has yet been given for the operation.
The security force movement comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York formally filed charges against him and nine other officials in his political circle for alleged collaboration with drug trafficking organizations.
Rocha denied the charges and asserted that he has no intention of resigning as governor. Meanwhile, the federal government’s public stance has been to demand evidence from the United States before proceeding with any legal or political action against the Sinaloa governor, although the case has already created an internal rift within the Morena party. For now, Rocha is determined to hold out.
