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Suspected assassin for Sinaloa drug cartel known as “El Nini” extradited to U.S.
A suspected top assassin in Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel was extradited Saturday to the United States, where he will face charges linked to drug and weapons smuggling, the Justice Department announced.
Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, known as “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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement after the extradition Saturday morning.
“We also allege El Nini was a part of the Sinaloa Cartel’s production and sale of fentanyl, including in the United States,” Garland said.
The U.S. had offered up to $3 million for information leading to the arrest of Perez Salas, who faces charges of conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, cocaine and weapons, among others.
He is thought to be a close associate of the sons of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S.
He was arrested in the northwest Mexican city of Culiacan in November 2023, less than a week after President Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pledged to coordinate more closely on fighting drug trafficking, especially that of the powerful synthetic drug fentanyl.
“El Nini played a prominent role in the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, one of the deadliest drug trafficking enterprises in the world,” Mr. Biden said in a statement Saturday. “The United States has charged him for his role in illicit fentanyl trafficking and for murdering, torturing, and kidnapping numerous rivals, witnesses, and others. This is a good day for justice.”
At the time of his arrest, Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, described Perez Salas to the Associated Press as “a complete psychopath,” adding that “taking him out of commission is a good thing for Mexico.”
The U.S. saw more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl accounted for about 70 percent of them.
The U.S. government says fentanyl is often made from products sourced in China, and then is smuggled across the border from Mexico by drug traffickers, especially the Sinaloa cartel.
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How a unique Topeka program is welcoming immigrants and helping them thrive
Topeka, Kansas — When Angelica Chernytska and her mother Larysa left war-torn Ukraine earlier this year, they never expected Topeka, Kansas, would quickly feel like home.
“I was overwhelmed, that is how I can describe my feelings,” Angelica told CBS News.
That’s because the people of this Midwestern city have created a modern-day welcome wagon.
“It’s very rewarding to see the children thrive in school, not afraid of sirens,” said Yana Ross, president of the nonprofit group Top City Promise.
Ross, who immigrated from Ukraine herself, started the volunteer group to help new immigrants, mostly Ukrainians so far, with almost all expenses for three months, including a place to live.
Larysa said she “was overwhelmed” to walk into a fully furnished apartment the day after she arrived in Topeka.
What is unique is how the group has partnered with the community to ensure the immigrants have more than just a roof over their heads. A Latter-day Saints church welcomes the newcomers to pick up free food, while a Catholic church stores donations that furnish the homes.
Topeka Public Schools has gone as far as hiring a director of cultural innovation, Dr. Pilar Mejía, who helps ease the transition for children.
“We need to strengthen our community from the ground up, and it starts with the children, and so we need to make sure that everybody feels like they’re important,” Mejía said. “They are seen, they are welcomed.”
Topeka Public Schools now has an international flair. In the district of almost 13,000, Ukrainian and Spanish are the most common languages after English. More than 200 refugees have benefitted from the program and the helping hand extends to all nationalities.
Lisbeth Amador came from Nicaragua with her husband and 6-year-old daughter Sury. The couple have jobs, a car and a good school for Sury.
“I love it,” Amador says of her family’s new home. “…It’s different, my life here.”
The cost of welcoming a family can range anywhere from $300 to $10,000 depending on needs. Top City Promise relies on fundraising and the big hearts of the people who call Topeka home.
“Community is what makes Topeka different, because of the desire of the Topeka community to help, to help them to be successful,” Ross said.
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California firefighters battling Thompson Fire contend with simmering heat
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Biden celebrates July 4th as debate fallout continues
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