MEXICO CITY—A former Sinaloa state security chief accused in the U.S. of taking bribes from drug-cartel kingpins was arrested in Arizona this week in a case that has rocked diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico.
Gerardo Mérida, a retired Mexican army general who served as public-security secretary in northwestern Sinaloa state, was detained on Monday in Tucson, Ariz., court records show.
Mérida is one of 10 current and former Sinaloa officials, including Gov. Rubén Rocha, indicted last month in the U.S. for allegedly taking bribes from Sinaloa cartel leaders to protect their billion-dollar drug empire. U.S. prosecutors say that the Sinaloa cartel is one of the world’s top producers and smugglers of fentanyl into the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the evidence presented by U.S. authorities requesting their arrest and extradition was insufficient. Mexican authorities opened their own investigations into the accused.
The U.S. indictment further strained Mexico’s ties with the Trump administration. Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole recently said that the Rocha indictment, the first against a sitting Mexican governor, would be followed by other moves against officials in league with drug traffickers.
Mérida is charged with various drug and weapons offenses and could face up to life in prison. He waived any rights to a detention hearing in Tucson ahead of his transfer to New York, where he was indicted.
Mérida was appointed as Sinaloa’s security chief by Rocha in September 2024 and resigned three months later. That period was marked by a violent war for control of the Sinaloa cartel.
While security chief, he received $100,000 monthly bribes from the “Chapitos,” the faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of legendary drug boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, according to the indictment.
Rocha has taken a leave of absence as governor, vowing to fight the charges against him, which he said form part of a campaign against Mexico’s ruling Morena party. Mérida couldn’t be reached to comment. His U.S. public defender didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Mérida, whose job was to supervise the Sinaloa state police, gave the Chapitos information about at least 10 law-enforcement raids on drug labs, enabling the traffickers to move the drugs and equipment before police arrived, the indictment said.
Mérida retired from the Mexican army in 2022 with the rank of general. He served in several military zones in Mexico, including in the violent border state of Tamaulipas and in Michoacán, both active drug-trafficking areas.
Write to José de Córdoba at jose.decordoba@wsj.com
