Ex-Sinaloa security chief arrested in Arizona

Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, 66, entered Arizona, on Monday and was taken into custody by U.S. marshals, according to Mexico’s Security Ministry in a post on X.

He is one of two former high-ranking officials from Sinaloa detained by U.S. officials over alleged ties to the powerful Sinaloa cartel, court records and sources said on Friday. The pair was charged last month along with Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha, who has not yet been detained, in what marks a significant escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Mexico over the fight against the drug cartels.

Mérida Sánchez briefly appeared before a federal court in Tucson, a key jurisdiction for handling cross-border crime cases. It remains unclear whether he voluntarily surrendered to U.S. authorities.

Mérida Sánchez was later transferred to New York and is currently being held at the federal detention center in Brooklyn. On Friday, he appeared in federal court in Manhattan for a brief five-minute hearing, where he pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, according to court records.

He was indicted last month alongside Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, and eight other current and former officials on a range of charges related to drug trafficking.

Separately, former Sinaloa finance minister Enrique Diaz surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter. A Sinaloa government source also confirmed he was in U.S. custody. Reuters could not immediately reach Diaz or his representatives for comment, Reuters reported.

Both former officials were charged in an indictment unsealed in court on April 29 with conspiring with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to import massive quantities of narcotics into the U.S. in exchange for political support and bribes, according to Reuters.

Corruption allegations

Mérida Sánchez has a background that sets him apart from a conventional law enforcement official.

His career was shaped within Mexico’s armed forces, with experience in strategic intelligence. His prior positions include commander of the 21st Military Zone in Michoacán and director of the Military Intelligence School, one of the most prestigious roles within Mexico’s military structure.

He entered state public security leadership in September 2023, when he was appointed Sinaloa’s Public Security Secretary under Governor Rocha Moya. He remained in that role until December 2024, when he abruptly resigned amid rising violence linked to an internal conflict between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel known as “Los Chapitos” and “Los Mayos.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, that climate of violence coincided with his alleged illicit activities. Federal prosecutors in New York claim that Mérida Sánchez acted as a high-level collaborator with cartel operations, allegedly receiving monthly cash bribes of $100,000 from “Los Chapitos.”

According to the indictment, in exchange for those payments he carried out several actions to benefit the criminal organization, including providing information about raids targeting clandestine synthetic drug laboratories, offering logistical protection, and maintaining a policy of non-intervention by ensuring that state police forces took a passive stance.

Alleged support for drug trafficking

U.S. authorities argue that this type of conduct facilitated the flow of drugs into the United States, reinforcing trafficking routes that frequently cross the Arizona border, including the Nogales corridor.

Prosecutors also allege that leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel helped Rocha Moya come to power through the kidnapping and intimidation of political rivals, in exchange for protection of their drug trafficking operations within the United States—activities that have a direct impact on border states such as Arizona.

Rocha Moya has denied the allegations and is the highest-ranking Mexican official charged in the United States since 2020.