The former Minister of Public Security of Mexico’s Sinaloa state appeared in a US court on Friday, days after he was arrested in Arizona on allegations that he and other officials took bribes to help the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle drugs into the US.
Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, 66, was not required to enter a plea during his arraignment in federal court in Manhattan. He was remanded in custody but can apply for bail later. He is expected to appear in court again on June 1. A message was left for his lawyer.
Mérida Sánchez is one of 10 current or former Sinaloa government officials or law enforcement officials indicted by the United States last month and the first to appear in court. He is charged with conspiracy to import narcotics, possession of a firearm and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess a firearm and destructive devices. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
Other defendants include Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and Mayor Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacán, both of whom said they are taking temporary leave to deal with the charges. They have not been caught yet.
Mexico’s Security Council said on social media that Mérida Sánchez entered the United States from Hermosillo, Sonora, on Monday, and was taken into custody by the United States Military Service at the Nogales border in Arizona. He was arraigned in Arizona before being extradited to New York, court records show.
Mérida Sánchez was Secretary of Public Security, a cabinet-level appointment in Moya’s government of Sinaloa, from September 2023 until her resignation in December 2024. She was responsible for overseeing the Sinaloa State Police and appointing its director.
