The United States Federal Prosecutor's Office asked a court this Friday that the first hearing in the case against Gerardo Mérida, former Secretary of Security of Sinaloa, be held on June 3 or later, with the agreement of the defense.

The prosecutor of the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, sent a letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla in which he indicates that “the parties are available for an initial conference before your Honor (on) June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12” or “any other date thereafter.”

The former secretary of security was arrested on May 11 in Arizona and appeared on May 15 in court in New York.

At his arraignment, Mérida pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to import narcotics, possession of weapons and conspiracy to possess weapons, which face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

In today's letter, prosecutor Clayton indicated that Judge Sarah Netburn, who presided over the arraignment hearing, ordered to “stop the clock” in the judicial process against Mérida, which follows the Speedy Trial Law, until June 1, the date on which the deadline will run again.

The Prosecutor's Office asked Judge Polk to also exclude from the deadlines of the Speedy Trial Act the time that elapses “until the next conference date” that the parties have asked her to determine, starting June 3, to “facilitate pre-trial discussions,” the motion indicates.

The authorities indicate in the letter that the defense “consents” to the requests, so both parties agree to them.

The former Mexican official is identified by the US as an important piece in the plot to protect the Sinaloa Cartel in the case that also involves the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, who temporarily stepped down from his official position.

Mérida, a retired general of the Mexican Army, is one of the main defendants in the case opened by the Prosecutor's Office of the Southern District of New York in relation to the so-called Rocha Moya plot.

With information from EFE.