Day 661: Former Sinaloa Finance Secretary Díaz Vega Also Surrenders — Two of 10 Indicted Officials Now in US Custody

On the same day that former Security Secretary Gerardo Mérida Sánchez appeared in Manhattan SDNY federal court — May 15, 2026 — a second of the 10 officials indicted by the SDNY on April 29, 2026 turned himself in: Enrique Alfonso Díaz Vega, 50, former Sinaloa Secretary of Administration and Finance (2021–2024) under Governor Rubén Rocha Moya. La Jornada and Latinus confirmed that Díaz Vega surrendered to US federal authorities on May 15, with Infobae reporting he was detained in Europe while El Imparcial specified he surrendered in New York — consistent with a trans-Atlantic extradition/surrender from Ireland or another EU jurisdiction. According to the SDNY indictment, Díaz Vega served as the critical operational liaison between Rocha Moya and the Chapitos — specifically Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar. Before the 2021 Sinaloa gubernatorial election, he allegedly met with the Guzmán brothers and provided them with names and home addresses of Rocha Moya's political opponents so the Chapitos could run intimidation campaigns to eliminate rivals. Post-election, he allegedly embedded 'corrupt officials' across the Sinaloa state government to protect Chapitos operations from law enforcement. He faces drug trafficking conspiracy, weapons charges, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. La Silla Rota confirmed both secretaries — Mérida Sánchez (Security) and Díaz Vega (Finance) — had surrendered to US authorities on May 15, 2026, making it the most significant single day for US accountability of the 10-official indictment package. Their combined cooperation carries explosive intelligence value: as former heads of Sinaloa's security and financial architecture, they possess direct knowledge of Chapitos bribery networks, identities of other compromised state officials, and the operational architecture of the decade-long state-cartel relationship under Rocha Moya. The eight remaining indicted officials — including Rocha Moya and Culiacán Mayor Gámez Mendívil — remain in Mexico under FGR review.