(Reuters) – Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, or “El Nini,” who is accused of heading security for a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, was extradited to the United States on Saturday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.
Seen by U.S. anti-narcotics agents as one of the most ruthless Mexican drug figures, Perez Salas was detained in November by the Mexican National Guard in Culiacan, the Sinaloa Cartel’s heartland, and was taken to Mexico City, according to government detention records at the time.
“We allege El Nini was one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s lead sicarios, or assassins, and was responsible for the murder, torture, and kidnapping of rivals and witnesses who threatened the cartel’s criminal drug trafficking enterprise,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement.
Perez Salas is accused by the U.S. State Department of working under Ivan Archivaldo Guzman to lead the “Ninis,” a violent group of security personnel for the sons of founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
U.S. courts have indicted Perez Salas on a slew of charges in relation to his alleged role at the helm of the Chapitos’ security apparatus, including cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and witness retaliation.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chris Reese)
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