A top Mexican government official who made headlines last month when he, along with the sitting governor of Sinaloa, was named in a criminal indictment accusing them of working for the Sinaloa Cartel, surrendered this week to U.S. authorities. The official is the former head of the state police in Sinaloa and a retired Mexican Army general.
This week, Mexico’s Security Cabinet announced that General Gerardo Merida Sanchez, the former Secretary for Public Safety in Sinaloa, turned himself in to U.S. authorities earlier this week. The accused drug lord and lawman traveled from Hermosillo, Sonora, to Nogales, Arizona, where he turned himself in to the U.S. Marshal Service.
News of the surrender spread like wildfire through Mexico as he was the first of nine top government officials named in the same indictment against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya. As Breitbart Texas reported, the indictment accuses Moya and his closest allies of openly working for the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The indictment has actual drug trafficking and weapons charges against the various defendants.
Since the announcement of the indictment, tensions have sparked between Mexico’s government and the U.S. government, which has been actively pressuring the southern country to fight cartels. The case has sparked much controversy because Rocha Moya is a close political ally of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the founder of the country’s current ruling party, MORENA. Breitbart Texas has long reported on numerous cases of corruption and cartel ties with MORENA politicians, including the former governor of Tabasco, the current governor of Tamaulipas, Rocha Moya, and various others.
Rather than assist in arresting Rocha Moya and his associates, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly claimed that the U.S. has not given them any evidence that proves that Rocha Moya or the other individuals have committed any crimes. Currently, Rocha Moya is being guarded by police forces in Sinaloa.
In the case of Merida Sanchez, the former lawman is accused of actual drug conspiracy charges and not corruption ones. According to federal prosecutors, Rocha Moya and his associates sold out their state in exchange for bribes and political power.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.