Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- ⚖️ Rocha’s fate hinges on evidence: Sheinbaum reiterated that no one can be arrested or extradited from Mexico without evidence proving they committed a crime. Her remarks came after Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya requested leave again amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations.
- 🚪 Other accused officials should follow suit: Asked whether Senator Enrique Inzunza — named in the same U.S. indictment as Rocha — should also step aside, Sheinbaum said she believes other accused officials still in office should go on leave as investigations continue. However, she stressed that “everyone has to make their own decisions.”
- 🤝 New interim governor praised as “honest”: Sheinbaum said she doesn’t know Graciela Domínguez well but called her “an honest woman” who has long fought for social justice. The Morena deputy and former Sinaloa education minister was designated interim governor by the state Congress on Tuesday.
- ✈️ Lezama pressed on private jet travel: Responding to a Reforma report alleging Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama took 97 private plane flights while in office, Sheinbaum said it’s up to Lezama to clarify the details. Lezama denied the figures and said she never used public funds for the flights.
Why today’s mañanera matters
The case of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya — who U.S. prosecutors accuse of drug trafficking and weapons offenses — continues to be a hot topic in Mexico.
Rocha went on leave in early May, but returned to the governorship last Friday. However, under pressure from President Claudia Sheinbaum and Morena governors and lawmakers, he requested leave again on Saturday and the Sinaloa Congress approved his request on Sunday.
Another return to the governorship of Sinaloa appears highly unlikely for Rocha, a 77-year-old Morena politician who has essentially been disowned by his own party. Whether he can ultimately avoid extradition to the United States remains unclear. His fate appears to largely depend on U.S. authorities’ ability to submit evidence to Mexican authorities that convinces them that there is probable cause to believe the governor committed the crimes he is accused of.
At her Tuesday morning press conference, Sheinbaum stressed, once again, that no one can be arrested in Mexico or extradited from Mexico without evidence supporting an accusation that they committed a crime.
Her remarks came in response to a question about whether a Morena senator named in the same U.S. indictment as Rocha should also go on leave. The U.S. accusations against Rocha and other officials affiliated with Morena are a major headache for Sheinbaum, the leader of the “fourth transformation” political movement, of which Morena is a central part.
Also of note at today’s mañanera were Sheinbaum’s remarks about Sinaloa’s new interim governor, who is slated to govern the state until a new elected governor takes office in late 2027.
In addition, the president briefly commented on Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama’s reportedly extensive travel on private planes, revealed by the newspaper Reforma on Monday.
Should Enrique Inzunza go on leave?
A reporter asked the president whether Senator Enrique Inzunza should go on leave ahead of the Senate’s legislative period in September.
Inzunza, a senator for Sinaloa, is one of 10 current and former officials accused by U.S. prosecutors of drug trafficking in league with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Sheinbaum noted that she offered an opinion on the case of Governor Rocha on Monday, before declaring that she believed that other accused officials who are currently in office and under investigation in Mexico should also go on leave.
“But everyone has to make their own decisions,” she said.
Sheinbaum subsequently reiterated that “in Mexico Mexicans decide” whether a person accused of wrongdoing by U.S. authorities has a case to answer.
“When there is an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and it is asking for an extradition or an arrest, there has to proof,” she said.
“We’re always going to defend that [position],” Sheinbaum said.
“… It’s a matter of the law, of the constitution,” she said.
Sheinbaum: Interim governor of Sinaloa is an ‘honest woman’
A reporter noted that Graciela Domínguez, a federal Morena deputy, appeared likely to be appointed as interim governor of Sinaloa. Domínguez, who previously served as education minister in Sinaloa during Rocha’s government, was proposed for the job by the Sinaloa Congress and designated as interim governor on Tuesday morning during the president’s mañanera.
Sheinbaum said that she doesn’t know Domínguez well, but added: “I do know she is an honest woman.”
“… She’s a woman who has been fighting for social justice and people’s well-being for many years,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that the federal government would support Domínguez as interim governor. Her task, she said, will be to “work for the peace, security and well-being of the people of Sinaloa,” a violence-plagued state where rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are engaged in a long-running and very bloody war.
After a reporter noted that there were calls for a person not linked to Rocha to be appointed as interim governor, Sheinbaum highlighted that the decision corresponded exclusively to the Sinaloa Congress.
“It’s not a decision for the president, it’s a decision for the state Congress,” she said.
Sheinbaum: Lezama has to explain her extensive travel
A reporter asked the president about Lezama’s reported travel on private planes to Mexican and international destinations, including Orlando and Vail in the United States.
According to Reforma, Lezama — a Morena governor who took office in Quintana Roo in September 2022 — has taken 97 flights on private planes while serving as a public official. Her husband and children accompanied her on many of those flights.
Sheinbaum said that it’s up to the governor to explain her travel.
“That’s the first thing,” she said. “It comes out in the media, but we don’t know how true it is,” Sheinbaum said.
“… [Lezama] has to clarify whether she used these planes and under what conditions,” she said.
In a social media post on Tuesday morning, the Quintana Roo governor said that she had taken flights on private planes, but asserted that she never paid for them with public money.
Lezama rejected Reforma’s reporting regarding the number of flights she has allegedly taken on private planes.
“It would mean being on vacation a whole year, it would be impossible,” she wrote.
“My commitment is to work 24/7, without rest, without neglecting my responsibility at any time,” Lezama said.
