Former Mexican Sinaloa Security Chief Arrested in US Over Alleged Cartel Ties

Former Mexican Security Chief Arrested in US Custody

Gerardo Merida Sanchez, 66, a former public security secretary of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, was arrested on May 11 in Arizona before being transferred to New York. He is currently being held at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Friday.

According to unsealed court records, Sanchez and former Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha were charged with conspiring with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to import narcotics into the US in exchange for political support and bribes. The indictment alleges that Sanchez accepted over $100,000 in monthly cash bribes from Los Chapitos, a faction of the cartel led by the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Prosecutors claim that Sanchez used his position to shield Los Chapitos’ operations by ordering law enforcement officers not to arrest members while targeting rival groups. They also accuse him of leaking sensitive intelligence to the cartel, including advance warnings about investigations and planned raids on drug laboratories and safehouses.

The indictment marks a significant escalation in US efforts to crack down on Mexican drug cartels, with prosecutors now investigating political figures accused of collaborating with trafficking networks. Rocha has denied the charges, stating that they are an attack against Mexico’s governing party. The Mexican government has also expressed concerns about the US charges, with President Claudia Sheinbaum suggesting that they appear politically motivated.

This development comes as part of a broader shift in US counternarcotics policy under President Donald Trump. Federal prosecutors have been instructed to consider using “terrorism-related statutes” against Mexican officials allegedly linked to the narcotics trade.

Source: Al Jazeera