By Ana Isabel Martinez and Raul Cortes
MEXICO CITY, April 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that unless the U.S. government presents "clear evidence" linking Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha to drug cartels, the charges announced against him on Wednesday are politically motivated.
"We are not going to protect anyone who has committed a crime," Sheinbaum said at her regular morning press conference, referring to the U.S. Justice Department's indictment against Rocha and other Mexican current and former officials for conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel.
"However, if there isn't clear evidence, it is obvious that the objective of these indictments by the Department of Justice is political," Sheinbaum added, saying that Mexico would not permit interference by a foreign government in its sovereign affairs.
ROCHA, SHEINBAUM FROM SAME PARTY
The charges against Rocha mark a new front in the U.S. fight against cartels. While the U.S. has repeatedly gone after drug kingpins, U.S. indictments against sitting senior Mexican politicians are rare.
Rocha's indictment poses a problem for Sheinbaum, particularly because they are both from the same ruling Morena Party. Rocha is also an ally of Sheinbaum's predecessor and mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Rocha has denied the charges and said they were an attack against Mexico's governing political movement. "They lack any truth or foundation whatsoever," he said in a post on X, vowing they would be proven false.
According to the U.S. indictment, Rocha was elected as governor of Sinaloa in 2021 with the help of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel run by the sons of founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, known as "Los Chapitos."
The Chapitos allegedly kidnapped and intimidated Rocha's political rivals, the Justice Department said, in exchange for Rocha's promise to allow the group to operate with impunity and distribute drugs to the U.S.
The others charged by the U.S. Justice Department include current and former state-level officials as well as the mayor and an ex-police commander for Culiacan, the Sinaloa state capital.
"These politicians and law enforcement officials have abused their authority in support of the cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence, and sold out their offices in exchange for massive bribes," according to the indictment.
Sheinbaum stressed that due process would have to be followed in Mexico. "There has to be overwhelming evidence for an arrest warrant to be issued," she said, referring to carrying out the U.S. extradition requests that accompanied the indictment.
The Mexican president said she had spoken to Rocha on Wednesday, telling him: "If there is nothing, there is nothing to fear."
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Raul Cortez and Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Emily Green, Rod Nickel)
