President Joe Biden expressed gratitude to Mexico following the arrest of man suspected of being the head of security for one of that country's largest drug cartels.
Néstor Isidro "El Nini" Pérez Salas, 30, alleged head of security for the Chapitos wing of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested Wednesday after an extensive military operation in the city of Culiacán in the northern state of Sinaloa. The State Department said Pérez Salas also is among the leaders and commanders of the "Ninis," a particularly violent group of security personnel for the Chapitos.
Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, has been the scene of multiple operations against members of the Sinaloa Cartel, Telemundo reported, including two raids to capture Ovidio Guzmán, a son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a life sentence plus 30 years at a supermax prison in Colorado after being convicted of murder conspiracy and drug charges in 2019.
Ovidio Guzmán was extradited to the U.S. in September, nine months after his arrest in Mexico. He was indicted in April on federal charges of large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and violent crimes.
Biden thanked Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Mexican army and special forces in a news release for capturing Pérez Salas and expressed "our appreciation for the brave men and women of Mexican security forces who undertook this successful operation to apprehend him."
"These arrests are testament to the commitment between the United States and Mexico to secure our communities against violence, counter the cartels, and end the scourge of illicit fentanyl that is hurting so many families," Biden said. "We will continue working as strong partners to do everything possible to hold criminals accountable for jeopardizing public health and safety in our two countries.
"As I told President Andrés Manuel López Obrador when we met in San Francisco on Nov. 17, nothing is beyond our reach when Mexico and the United States stand together."
Pérez Salas has been one of the most wanted people in Mexico and the United States for nearly three years. The State Department said he was indicted in February 2021 by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on charges that include trafficking cocaine and methamphetamines and witness retaliation. He also was indicted in April by a federal grand jury in New York City's Manhattan borough on charges that include fentanyl importation conspiracy, fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, and money-laundering conspiracy.
A reward of $3 million was offered by the U.S. for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Pérez Salas.
"We are now seeking 'El Nini's' swift extradition from Mexico to face justice here in the United States," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release.
The Drug Enforcement Administration considers the Sinaloa Cartel largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the U.S. over the past several years.