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NEW YORK — <\/span>The former secretary of public security for Mexico\u2019s Sinaloa state appeared in a U.S. court on 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.<\/p>\n Gerardo M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez, 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.<\/p>\n M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez 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.<\/p>\n Other defendants include Gov. Rub\u00e9n Rocha Moya and Mayor Juan de Dios G\u00e1mez Mend\u00edvil of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiac\u00e1n, both of whom said they were taking temporary leaves of absence to deal with the charges. They have yet to be apprehended.<\/p>\n Mexico\u2019s Security Cabinet stated on social media that M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez 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.<\/p>\n M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez 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.<\/p>\n M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez is accused of taking at least $100,000 in monthly cash bribes from \u201cLos Chapitos,\u201d a Sinaloa Cartel faction run by the sons of incarcerated ex-cartel leader Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n<\/a>, in exchange for arresting rivals and providing information about ongoing investigations and planned drug raids.<\/p>\n In 2023 alone, M\u00e9rida S\u00e1nchez 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.<\/p>\n Some of the indicted officials are members of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum<\/a> \u2019s progressive Morena party. <\/p>\n After the indictment was announced, Sheinbaum said she wouldn\u2019t defend anyone found to have committed a crime but argued that, if authorities uncovered \u201cirrefutable\u201d evidence linking the officials to cartel crime, they should be tried in Mexico, not the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will never subordinate ourselves because this is a matter of the dignity of the Mexican people,\u201d she said, risking backlash from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action<\/a> against cartels on Mexican soil.<\/p>\n Mexico\u2019s Foreign Ministry and Security Cabinet have been maintaining institutional communication with U.S. authorities within the framework of international cooperation mechanisms.<\/p>\n \u201cEl Chapo\u201d was convicted in 2019 and sentenced<\/a> to life in prison.<\/p>\n