Mexico extradites suspected Sinaloa cartel leader and assassin to US

May 28 (UPI) — The Mexican government extradited Nestor Isidro Perez Salas to the United States on Saturday to face multiple criminal charges, including murder, drug importation, kidnapping, firearms and money laundering.

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced the extradition and indictment of Salas, 32, also known as “El Nini” and who is the alleged leader of the Sinaloa cartel and its main assassin, according to the DOJ.

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“El Nini was one of the principal sicarios, or assassins, of the Sinaloa Cartel, and was responsible for the murder, torture and kidnapping of rivals and witnesses who threatened the cartel's criminal drug trafficking empire “, said the Ministry of Justice.

Salas is accused of killing a Drug Enforcement Administration informant and others in retaliation for the informant's cooperation with the DEA.

“We also allege that El Nini was part of the Sinaloa Cartel's production and sale of fentanyl, including in the United States,” the Justice Department said.

The Mexican government agreed to extradite Salas after the DOJ obtained federal indictments in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Southern District of New York.

In federal court in Washington, D.C., Salas is charged with importing cocaine and methamphetamine, firearms violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice through murder.

He is also charged with continuing a criminal enterprise that resulted in the deaths of numerous victims, including a DEA informant, in federal court for the Southern District of New York.

The New York federal court indictment also charges Salas with importing and trafficking fentanyl; obstructing justice by murdering an informant; kidnapping leading to the death of eight people, including a minor; gun violations and money laundering.

Mexican authorities arrested Salas in Culiacan, Mexico, on November 22, and he was charged Tuesday morning in federal court in the Southern District of New York.

The DOJ says the Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels and is responsible for a significant amount of fentanyl manufactured in Mexico and imported for distribution in the United States.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and is the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 49.

The DOJ alleges that Salas is a senior leader in the Sinaloa Cartel security apparatus who allegedly uses “widespread violence” to protect the cartel's operations, capture disputed territory, destroy uncooperative businesses, intimidate civilians and kill members of the police.