Ex-Sinaloa security chief is first of 10 indicted Mexican officials to
surrender to US authorities
[May 16, 2026]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — The former secretary of public security for Mexico’s
Sinaloa state appeared in a U.S. court Friday, days after his arrest in
Arizona on charges he and other officials took bribes to help the
Sinaloa Cartel smuggle vast quantities of drugs into the U.S.
Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, 66, was not required to enter a plea during his
initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. He was ordered jailed
but could request bail at a later date. He is due back in court on June
1. A message seeking comment was left for his lawyer.
Mérida Sánchez is one of 10 current or former Sinaloa government or law
enforcement officials charged by the U.S. last month and the first to
appear in court. He is charged with narcotics importation conspiracy,
possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to
possess machine guns and destructive devices and faces 40 years to life
in prison if convicted.
Other defendants include Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya and Mayor Juan de Dios
Gámez Mendívil of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacán, both of whom
said they were taking temporary leaves of absence to deal with the
charges. They have yet to be apprehended.
Mexico’s Security Cabinet stated on social media that Mérida Sánchez
entered the U.S. from Hermosillo, Sonora, on Monday, and was taken into
custody by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Nogales border crossing into
Arizona. He appeared in court in Arizona before being moved to New York,
court records show.
Mérida Sánchez was Secretary of Public Security, an appointed
cabinet-level position in Moya's Sinaloa government, from September 2023
until his resignation in December 2024. He was responsible for
overseeing the Sinaloa State Police and appointing its director.
Mérida Sánchez is accused of taking at least $100,000 in monthly cash
bribes from “Los Chapitos,” a Sinaloa Cartel faction run by the sons of
incarcerated ex-cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in exchange for
arresting rivals and providing information about ongoing investigations
and planned drug raids.
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In 2023 alone, Mérida Sánchez warned the Chapitos about at least 10
upcoming raids on labs and safe houses where they stored drugs,
weapons, and money, allowing them to remove personnel and evidence
of criminal activity before they happened, according to an
indictment unsealed last month.
Some of the indicted officials are members of Mexican President
Claudia Sheinbaum ’s progressive Morena party.
After the indictment was announced, Sheinbaum said she wouldn’t
defend anyone found to have committed a crime but argued that, if
authorities uncovered “irrefutable” evidence linking the officials
to cartel crime, they should be tried in Mexico, not the U.S.
“We will never subordinate ourselves because this is a matter of the
dignity of the Mexican people,” she said, risking backlash from U.S.
President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action against
cartels on Mexican soil.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and Security Cabinet have been maintaining
institutional communication with U.S. authorities within the
framework of international cooperation mechanisms.
“El Chapo” was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
Another Sinaloa kingpin, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, pleaded guilty
last year to U.S. drug trafficking charges and apologized for
helping flood the country with cocaine, heroin and other illicit
substances and for fueling deadly violence in Mexico. He is
scheduled to be sentenced in July to life in prison.
Under Zambada and Guzmán’s leadership, prosecutors say, the Sinaloa
cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug
trafficking organization in the world.
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Associated Press writer Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed
to this report.
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