Cartel Assassin Extradited to U.S., Cooperation with Mexico Praised
One of the nation’s most wanted criminals is extradited to the United States to face charges.
Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, otherwise known as “El Nini,” is accused of being one of the leading assassins for Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, as well as a key facilitator of the exportation of fentanyl into the United States.
Pérez Salas, who was first arrested in Mexico last fall, is wanted for murder, torture, and kidnapping of Sinaloa rivals, in addition to drug trafficking.
Prosecutors say Pérez Salas was the ringleader of the security group that protected the sons of imprisoned Sinaloa drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The sons, known as the little Chapos, or “Chapitos,” are one of the main exporters of fentanyl into the U.S.
According to court documents, Pérez Salas and his group used violence, kidnapping, and intimidation to go after Sinaloa rivals and protect the drug trade.
That includes the October 2023 kidnapping of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confidential source, and ten other victims in Mexico, including a U.S. citizen. Eight of the kidnapped victims were killed, including the DEA source.
U.S. Thanks Mexican Authorities
The Biden Administration hailed cooperation with the Mexican government for bringing
Pérez Salas to the U.S.
“This is a good day for justice. I thank Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for his decision to extradite this dangerous criminal,” said President Biden in a statement.
“With this enforcement action, El Nini joins the growing list of cartel leaders and associates indicted in, and extradited to, the United States. The Justice Department will continue to go after the cartels responsible for flooding our communities with fentanyl and other drugs,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The investigation was led by the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit and the FBI Washington Office. Assistance was provided by multiple DEA offices, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the State Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pérez Salas is charged in two indictments.
One in the District of Columbia charges Pérez Salas with cocaine and methamphetamine importation, firearms offenses, and conspiracy to obstruct justice through murder.
The other in the Southern District of New York charges Pérez Salas with leading a criminal enterprise resulting in the deaths of numerous victims, fentanyl importation and trafficking, obstruction of justice, kidnapping, and money laundering.