Mexican governor facing US drug charges seeks leave just one day after returning to office

Embattled Sinaloa, Mexico, Gov.Rubén Rocha Moya abruptly requested an indefinite leave of absence Saturday, just one day after returning to office following a three-month absence triggered by U.S.

drug trafficking charges against him.Rocha, 77, shared a letter on social media asking for "temporary leave of an indefinite nature, for more than 30 days" from his position as governor.The letter, dated Aug.22 and stamped received by the Sinaloa State Congress that day, does not say when Rocha plans to return or why he is stepping away again.MEXICAN SENATOR ACCUSES SHEINBAUM OF SHIELDING 'NARCO-POLITICIANS' AFTER US CARTEL INDICTMENTSinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya speaks as he leaves the inauguration ceremony of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the San Lazaro Legislative Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, on Oct.

1, 2024.(Jose Luis Torales/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The request came just a day after Rocha announced his return and said it was his "duty to fulfill the mandate" of voters who elected him to serve through Oct.

31, 2027."Today, I return to the exercise of my responsibility as Governor of Sinaloa with a clear conscience and head held high, with the strength of truth on our side," Rocha wrote Friday on X.Rocha said he spent 112 days away from office while making himself available to Mexican authorities investigating what he called "false accusations" by the U.S.government.He said he personally appeared before Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and answered investigators’ questions.Rocha insisted the investigation had produced no evidence that he committed a crime and accused political opponents in Mexico and abroad of trying to damage both the country’s sovereignty and the left-wing movement he represents.MEXICAN PRESIDENT IN THE DARK ABOUT DRUG OPERATION AFTER WHICH US, MEXICAN OFFICIALS WERE KILLED"I am unrelated to and innocent of the fabrications woven against me," Rocha wrote.Rocha’s return Friday did not get a warm reception from Mexico’...