Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, accused by the U.S. Justice Department of conspiring with the Sinaloa cartel to distribute massive quantities of narcotics, announced his temporary leave of absence on Friday to facilitate investigations. Rocha Moya, a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party, faces federal charges including narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns, carrying a potential life sentence. He decried the allegations as false and malicious. Culiacan Mayor Juan de Dios Gamez also stepped down. President Sheinbaum stated Mexico will extradite officials only with irrefutable evidence. The charges, the first public narcotrafficking accusations against a sitting governor, strain U.S.-Mexico relations amid Trump administration pressure for intervention against cartels.