Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as “El Nini,” a top assassin for the Sinaloa drug cartel, has been extradited to the US to face charges including drug trafficking, gun violations, and witness retaliation, Associated Press reports.
El Nini led a security team for the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who lead a faction exporting fentanyl to the US, responsible for about 70,000 overdose deaths annually. He was captured in Culiacan last November and is alleged to have participated in torture, murder, and kidnapping for the cartel. The US had posted a $3 million reward for his capture.
US President Joe Biden thanked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the extradition, emphasizing joint efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic. El Nini’s team, the Ninis, are noted for their extreme violence, including torturing a Mexican federal agent and executing rivals by feeding them to tigers.
