On May 11, Mexican General Gerardo Mérida crossed the Nogales border checkpoint in Arizona, in the southern United States, an unprecedented move in the modern history of the binational reality, marked by suspicion. Mérida thus embarked on a path different from what was expected, judging by the statements of the Government, particularly the president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who demanded a burden of proof appropriate to the seriousness of the accusations: conspiring with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic drugs north of the border. Experts consulted by EL PAÍS also share their surprise and wonder about the next steps in the general’s path.
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The scandal broke last week and automatically focused on the main accused, Rubén Rocha, given his rank in the civilian world. The Morena member, acting governor of Sinaloa, was at the top of the list released by the Department of Justice, ten officials and former officials accused of forming the institutional support apparatus of the cartel. One name appeared in the background, that of Gerardo Mérida. The noise around Rocha was justified, but the case of the retired military officer, who had reached the highest rank in the military hierarchy, generated a deep and silent wound, anchored in the heart of the Armed Forces.
Questions now point to the motives of the military chief. Several days after the publication of the accusation by the U.S. justice system, given Sheinbaum’s defense, the question is clear: why surrender and why apparently alone? Emilio Vizarretea, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of UNAM, expert in military affairs, shows his surprise. “Yes, it is strange, apparently there was coverage by the Government,” he argues. “It is important to know what happened in the days prior to his surrender, we are all reconstructing the last two weeks,” he adds.
Raúl Benítez Manaut, from the Center for Research on North America at UNAM, also an expert in the dynamics of the Army and Navy, is equally surprised. Given the little information available, he barely dares to suggest some possibilities. “I don’t know if perhaps the general heard rumors that they were close to him, and maybe he understood that it was important to surrender,” he says. “The military keep information among themselves. Inside [the Army] it may be known, but outside… Maybe he found out that information was starting to circulate outside and preferred to surrender,” he points out.
The situation is completely unusual. The last somewhat similar precedent is actually quite unrelated. In 2020, U.S. justice arrested Salvador Cienfuegos in Los Angeles, Secretary of Defense during Enrique Peña Nieto’s government (2012-2018). Division general, the same rank as Mérida, the military chief had traveled to the neighboring country without knowing he was wanted. He always maintained his innocence – just like Mérida so far – and fought to return to his country, a move that finally happened, thanks to then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), who invoked national sovereignty in defense of the detained general.
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The matter with Mérida is different. When he crossed the border, the military chief knew what he was facing and accepted it. The question is why. Benítez Manaut suggests a procedural calculation. “Surrendering buys you a much kinder future,” says the expert, “we are talking about a change from virtual life imprisonment to a matter of five or 10 years, in prisons with better conditions, better food, etc.,” he adds. The expert does not doubt the success of the neighboring country’s Prosecutor’s Office before the judge. Vizarretea adds a nuance: his age. “Mérida is 70 years old. The accusation against him points to sentences of several decades. If he has surrendered, it is to negotiate,” he adds.
Vizarretea points out that Mérida’s departure is a complex matter. “It is a delicate situation for the entire military institution. He held very relevant positions within intelligence and is recognized in the field. No one expected this to happen with him, because he had much recognition, worked in very important academic areas for the Army and had a great deployment with Cienfuegos, that is, he went through many areas of the Secretariat during his years. And he has great operational experience, that is what linked him to Sinaloa,” highlights the expert.
The decision to cross the border is mysterious. “What intrigues us is whether surrendering was a collective decision with his seniors,” continues Vizarretea, referring to his colleagues inside the Army, “or if it was pressure from the [current administration of the] secretary,” he adds. Benítez Manaut offers a somewhat different view. “I don’t think he talked about it with anyone… It could be, no one has a crystal ball. But it is hard to think that he shared that decision, because it would have put him at risk,” he concludes.
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