The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that one of the top assassins for the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico was extradited to the United States to face charges. This is a significant move in the ongoing battle against the opioid epidemic, as the individual in question allegedly played a role in the production and distribution of fentanyl within the U.S.
Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed his gratitude towards Mexican officials for their efforts in apprehending this key figure from the Sinaloa Cartel. He emphasized that the extradition signifies an ongoing commitment to hold accountable those responsible for supplying deadly drugs like fentanyl within both countries.
Last year, the DOJ issued numerous charges against cartel leaders and announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the capture of this individual, Mr. Perez Salas. He was ultimately captured at a walled property in Culiacan, Sinaloa’s state capital, last November.
Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador issued statements commending the close cooperation between their governments in tackling the fentanyl crisis that has claimed countless lives on both sides of the border. The two leaders pledged to continue working together to dismantle the criminal networks responsible for producing, smuggling, and selling these deadly drugs.
According to an indictment unsealed last year in New York, Mr. Perez Salas commanded a violent security team known as the Ninis, which was part of the Chapitos faction within the Sinaloa Cartel. This group had received extensive military-style training in various combat tactics and was responsible for carrying out brutal acts of violence in multiple cases.
In recent years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reported a rise in the average purity levels found in fentanyl pills being smuggled into the U.S. by Mexican cartels. These two major players—the Sinaloa and Jalisco criminal syndicates—rely on Chinese companies to provide them with precursor chemicals and pill presses required for manufacturing the drugs.
As the opioid epidemic continues to wreak havoc across North America, this latest extradition demonstrates a concerted effort by both U.S. and Mexican authorities to take down key figures within the drug trafficking organizations responsible for distributing deadly substances like fentanyl.