MIAMI — An alleged leader and hitman of the Sinaloa Cartel who worked closely with the children of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was charged Tuesday in a United States federal court with drug trafficking and leading a criminal organization that kidnapped and killed numerous people.
Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as “El Nini,” was extradited on May 26 from Mexico and made his first appearance in court to hear more than a dozen charges he faces in two different cases, one in the southern district of New York and another in Washington.
Pérez Salas thus joined a large list of drug traffickers who have been extradited and charged in the courts of this country. Washington considers that the Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, responsible for much of the fentanyl that, according to the United States, is manufactured in the neighboring country for sale and distribution in its territory.
Former Cartel leader “El Chapo” Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking in New York and is currently serving his sentence in a maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado.
Fentanyl is a synthetic drug 50 times more powerful than heroin and its use is one of the leading causes of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. It is estimated that nearly 70,000 people die each year in the United States from overdoses.
In Washington, Pérez Salas faces charges of importation of cocaine and methamphetamine, firearms crimes and conspiracy to obstruct justice by murder.
“Criminal organization”
In the Southern District of New York, he is accused of leading a criminal organization that killed several people, including a confidential source for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), importation of fentanyl and trafficking , obstruction of justice for the murder of an informant, kidnapping and death of eight people, and money laundering crimes, among other charges.
The defendant, who had been detained in the Mexican city of Culiacán in November 2023, heard the charges presented by the US government in a hearing held in New York in front of Judge Ona Wang. If found guilty, he could face a sentence. minimum of 10 years in prison and maximum of life imprisonment.
The United States had offered a reward of up to $3 million for information leading to his arrest.
In recent years the Sinaloa Cartel has been led in part by El Chapo’s sons, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Ovidio Guzmán López, known as the “Chapitos.” Like their father, they have used violence and a sophisticated security apparatus to protect themselves and control their operations to traffic narcotics to the United States, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamines, according to the US government.
According to court documents, Pérez Salas is allegedly one of the leaders of the Chapitos security apparatus. Under his direction, hitmen have used violence to protect the group’s operations, capture territory, intimidate civilians, and attack and kill members of the security forces.
Led by the accused, the hitmen would have used military-type firearms and explosives, including machine guns and rocket launchers, to kidnap and kill their opponents.
Pérez Salas would be the leader of the “Ninis”, a violent group that would provide security to the Chapitos.
Among the examples provided to substantiate the accusations, the prosecution indicated that in 2017 Pérez Salas and two other members of the Chapitos had captured members of the rival Los Zetas cartel, whom they had tortured before interrogating them and then killed.
In 2023 he would have been part of a group that kidnapped a confidential source and 10 other people in Mexico. Pérez Salas and other hitmen had then killed eight of them, including the confidential source, and a 13-year-old boy, according to the accusations.
The list of those extradited also includes one of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, who faces accusations of drug trafficking and money laundering, among others.
Source: AP
