By Carmen Villavicencio
The request by the Donald Trump government to extradite the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, along with nine other state officials, is not only a judicial procedure; It is a direct missile against the Fourth Transformation (4T). For the first time in modern history, Washington is targeting not bosses hiding in the mountains, but high-level politicians in the full exercise of their duties.
This crisis exposes the pending issue of the Mexican government: its laxity in the face of narcopolitics. Although the official narrative insists on sovereignty, the factual reality – fueled by spectacular arrests carried out by the United States such as that of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada – indicates that the threads of native power in Sinaloa are dangerously tied with those of the Cartel.
President Claudia Sheinbaum finds herself facing a “lose-lose” scenario where each path has a tremendous political cost:
If he agrees to extradition, he will be the target of internal attacks. The most radical sectors of Morena will call her “surrender” and giving in to US imperialism. Even more serious, it would send a message of vulnerability within his party: no one is safe. This could fracture the cohesion of the 4T at a time when unity is its greatest asset.
If he chooses to protect Rocha Moya under the shield of sovereignty or lack of evidence, the Trump administration will not take long to label his government as an accomplice or “narco state.”. This would not be limited to rhetoric; It would put the T-MEC, the stability of the peso and border security, pillars of the Mexican economy, at risk.
Until now, Sheinbaum has opted for the classic manual of Mexican politics: buying time. By turning the case over to the Total Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic (FGR) and demanding compelling evidence, the president seeks to cool tempers and build a narrative of due process. However, time is a luxury that the Trump White House does not usually grant.
The “pause” strategy has an expiration date. The Sinaloa case has become indefensible in the eyes of public opinion. The inconsistencies regarding what happened on the day of the capture of “Mayo” and the murder of Héctor Melesio Cuén, Rocha Moya’s greatest political enemy, have left the governor of Sinaloa in a position of absolute vulnerability.
The time will come when Sheinbaum must choose between partisan loyalty to a questioned governor or the viability of the Mexican State against its most important trading partner.
Acting against Rocha Moya and the designated officials should not be seen as a surrender to the United States.but as a necessary cleaning at home. For the 4T to survive in the long term, it must demonstrate that its commitment to justice is greater than its group commitments. At the end of the day, Sheinbaum’s stature as a statesman will be measured by his ability to cut the ties suffocating Sinaloa, even if that means sacrificing key pieces of his own board.
