President Biden expressed gratitude to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, his Mexican counterpart, following the apprehension of Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, a suspected cartel security commander.
Biden announced in a statement on Thursday that the United States had indicted Salas, one of the most sought criminals in both nations, and that both countries were now safer with him behind bars.
Salas, commonly referred to as “El Nini,” was the Chapitos division of the Sinaloa Cartel’s chief of security.
The Sinaloa Cartel was established in 1987 by Joaqun “El Chapo” Guzmán, a drug kingpin presently convicted of the organization.
Salas’ apprehension coincides with the apprehension and subsequent extradition of Ovidio Guzmán López, an additional Chapitos commander, earlier in the year.
In September, one of El Chapo’s sons, Guzmán López, entered a not-guilty plea to charges including drug trafficking and money laundering.
Three months after being detained by Mexican authorities in January, Guzmán López was indicted on U.S. charges.
His father, who was convicted in 2019 of operating a smuggling operation and international drug enterprise, is currently incarcerated in a Colorado supermax prison on a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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