Sinaloa's state prosecutor's office announced that deputy prosecutor general Dámaso Castro Saavedra requested unpaid leave on May 5, 2026. This came one day after it stated he was still performing his duties, amid accusations by the US Department of Justice of ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. Castro follows other officials who have taken similar leave.
Sinaloa's General State Prosecutor's Office (FGE) reported on Tuesday, May 5, that Lic. Dámaso Castro Saavedra, one of 10 officials accused by the US Department of Justice of ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, requested unpaid leave from his position as deputy general prosecutor.
“The General State Prosecutor's Office of Sinaloa informs that, dated May 5, 2026, Lic. Dámaso Castro Saavedra submitted a request for unpaid leave from the position of deputy general prosecutor of the State,” the institution stated in a brief communique. The announcement followed one day after the FGE said Castro was exercising his functions “in full exercise of his legal powers.”
Castro follows Rubén Rocha Moya, Sinaloa's governor on leave, and Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil, former mayor of Culiacán, who also requested leave amid US accusations. “He also expresses his willingness to attend any institutional requirement made through legal channels and in strict adherence to the legal framework,” the FGE added.
The request is grounded in articles from the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, Sinaloa's state constitution, and the Organic Law of the FGE. According to RíoDoce weekly, Castro is implicated in irregularities in the investigation of Héctor Melesio Cuén's murder on June 25, 2024—the day Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was kidnapped—and for allegedly receiving bribes from Los Chapitos.
