The governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, has strongly rejected the allegations against him following the release of a video related to the murder of Luis Alberto Payán, a former agent of the State Attorney General's Ministerial Police. In the video, Payán linked him to the criminal group 'Los Chapitos' before being killed.
In his weekly press conference, the governor stated that such declarations are part of the risks faced by authorities. Rocha Moya declared, 'This is totally false, it makes no sense for them to do this, but it may be a message, and that is what we who govern are exposed to, but it must be clear and unequivocally that these are false matters.' He also mentioned that he is not worried about these kinds of allegations and recalled that this is not the first time they have attempted to link him to a criminal group.
The video mentions the former attorney of Sinaloa, Sara Bruna Quiñonez, who was dismissed for falsifying circumstances related to the death of Cuén. Although the audio of the video is distorted, names of several officials can be heard, and a direct accusation is made against the governor.
Agent Payán, head of the State Attorney General's Model Criminal Investigation Unit, was detained by the National Guard while driving a stolen truck, along with weapons and radio communication equipment. Although the accusations in his video pointed to Rocha Moya and other officials, the then Secretary of Public Security stated that he would not face charges for the theft of the vehicle due to the lack of a formal complaint.
Agent Payán was reported kidnapped on the morning of January 15, and his body was found the next day in Culiacán, accompanied by a threatening message. In the video released on social media, the agent referred to alleged links between state police commanders and the criminal group Los Chapos, pointing to the governor as the alleged orchestrator of the murder of the former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda. In response to these accusations, Rocha Moya replied that they are unfounded statements.
