Counterterrorism magazine’s website published my Threatcon column.
You can read the column via the below
link or the below text:
Back on November 23rd, the Justice Department issued a statement from U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the arrest of Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as “El Nini,” by Mexican authorities:
“Yesterday, Mexican authorities arrested Néstor
Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as ‘El Nini,’ who we allege is one of the
Sinaloa Cartel’s lead “sicarios,” or assassins.
“Until his apprehension, El Nini led security
operations for the Chapitos and we allege that he and his security forces
murdered, tortured, and kidnapped rivals, witnesses, and others who opposed the
Chapitos. Shortly after the apprehension of El Nini, I spoke with Mexican
Attorney General Gertz to thank him for the extraordinary efforts of the
Mexican authorities who made the arrest, and to whom we are all grateful for
their courage,” Garland stated. “We are now seeking El Nini’s swift extradition
from Mexico to face justice here in the United States.”
Garland also made note of a meeting in October in
Mexico City, in which he thanked the Mexican government and law
enforcement counterparts for the extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a leader
of the Sinaloa Cartel and one of more than a dozen cartel leaders the U.S. had indicted
who have been extradited to the United States. Previously, the U.S. announced
charges against 23 leaders, members, and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel. The
charges reflect the aggressive approach the U.S. Justice Department was taking
to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel, an organization responsible for
operating one of the deadliest and most prolific drug trafficking operations in
the world.
“Among those charged were the cartel’s drug
traffickers, their money launderers, their manufacturers, their chemical
suppliers, and their leaders — as well as their security forces, which engage
in horrific and brutal violence,” Garland said. “The Justice Department is
grateful to our Mexican counterparts for their work in that effort, and we
remain committed to doing everything in our power to dismantle the
dangerous drug trafficking cartels that are responsible for death and
devastation in both the United States and Mexico.”
President Joe Biden also weighed in on the arrest of Salas on November 23rd.
“On November 22, Mexican security forces
captured Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, the notorious head of security for the
Chapitos wing of the Sinaloa Cartel. For nearly three years, El Nini has been
one of Mexico’s and the United States’ most wanted criminals, indicted by the
United States for his roles in perpetrating violence and illicit fentanyl
trafficking into the United States, and both our countries are safer with him
behind bars and facing justice for his crimes. His arrest also follows
Mexico’s arrest and extradition to the United States of another Chapitos
leader, Ovidio Guzmán López, earlier this year.”
President Biden said that the arrests were
testament to the commitment between the United States and Mexico to secure
communities against violence, counter the cartels, and end the scourge of
illicit fentanyl that is hurting so many families.
“We will continue working as strong
partners to do everything possible to hold criminals accountable for
jeopardizing public health and safety in our two countries. As I
told President Andrés Manuel López Obrador when we met in San Francisco on
November 17, nothing is beyond our reach when Mexico and the United States
stand together. I want to thank President López Obrador and the Mexican Army
and special forces for effectively capturing El Nini and express our
appreciation for the brave men and women of Mexican security forces who undertook
this successful operation to apprehend him.”
According to the U.S.
State Department, Nestor Isidro Perez Salas is one of the leaders in the
Chapitos’ security apparatus. Perez Salas works directly for Ivan
Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar’s principal deputy, Oscar Noe Medina Gonzalez, and
holds responsibility within the Chapitos’ security apparatus for Sinaloa Cartel
security in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Perez Salas is also one of the
leaders and commanders of the “Ninis,” a particularly violent group of security
personnel for the Chapitos.
In April of 2023, a
federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York returned an
indictment against Perez Salas and others charging them with engaging in a
Continuing Criminal Enterprise, Fentanyl Importation Conspiracy, Fentanyl
Trafficking Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns & Destructive Devices,
Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns & Destructive Devices, and Money
Laundering Conspiracy.
“Today, the Justice Department is announcing
significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most
prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world – run by the Sinaloa
Cartel, and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies,”
said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in April. “Families and
communities across our country are being devastated by the fentanyl epidemic.
Today’s actions demonstrate the comprehensive approach the Justice Department
is taking to disrupt fentanyl trafficking and save American lives.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco added, “The
fentanyl crisis in America – fueled in large part by the Sinaloa cartel –
threatens our public health, our public safety, and our national security. Today’s
indictments target every element of the Sinaloa Cartel's trafficking network
and reflect the Justice Department's commitment to attacking every aspect of
this threat: from the chemical companies in China that spawn fentanyl
precursors, to the illicit labs that produce the poison, to the networks and
money launderers and murderers that facilitate its distribution. Just as we
have gone on offense against terrorists and cyber criminals around the globe,
the Department is now waging a relentless campaign to disrupt the production
and trafficking of fentanyl – before it can reach its victims.”
The DEA Administrator Anne Milgram also noted, “Today’s
indictments send a clear message to the Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel, and
criminal drug networks around the world that the DEA will stop at nothing to
protect the national security of the United States and the safety and health of
the American people. The Chapitos pioneered the manufacture and trafficking of
fentanyl – the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced – flooded it
into the United States for the past eight years and killed hundreds of
thousands of Americans. Over the last year and a half, the DEA proactively
infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and the Chapitos network, obtained unprecedented
access to the organization’s highest levels, and followed them across the
world. I am grateful to the men and women of the DEA for their exceptional work
on this case, which is the beginning of our work as ‘One DEA’ to dismantle
every part of the criminal cartels that are killing Americans at record rates.”
“Far too many Americans have become victims in the
national fentanyl crisis. These cartels have shown us they will stop at nothing
to manufacture, traffic, and push these dangerous drugs to every corner of our
country,” added FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Today’s indictments show that
the FBI and our law enforcement partners will never tire in our pursuit not
only to shut down their criminal enterprises, but also to go after individuals
in their network. I want to thank the FBI team who continue to work on these
cases everyday as we join with our law enforcement partners to tackle this
national epidemic.”
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the Sinaloa
Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world and is largely
responsible for the manufacturing and importing of fentanyl for distribution in
the United States. Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid that is more than
50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death
for Americans ages 18 to 49, and it has fueled the opioid epidemic that has
been ravaging families and communities across the United States for approximately
the past eight years. Between 2019 and 2021, fatal overdoses increased by
approximately 94%, with an estimated 196 Americans dying each day from
fentanyl.
The Sinaloa Cartel operated as an affiliation of drug
traffickers and money launderers who obtain precursor chemicals – largely from
China – for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, manufacture drugs in Mexico,
move those drugs into the United States, and collect, launder, and transfer the
proceeds of drug trafficking. Once led by Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo,
and Ismael Zambada Garcia, aka El Mayo, the Sinaloa Cartel’s members and
associates – allegedly including the sons of Guzman Loera, collectively known
as the Chapitos – smuggled significant quantities of drugs through Mexico and
into the United States. The Chapitos are Ivan Guzman Salazar, 40, Alfredo
Guzman Salazar, 37, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 36, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 33.
Following Guzman Loera’s arrest in January 2016 and
extradition to the United States in January 2017, the Chapitos allegedly
assumed their father’s former role as leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, along with
Zambada Garcia and Damaso Lopez Nunez, aka Licenciado. The Chapitos
subsequently amassed greater control over the Sinaloa Cartel by allegedly
threatening and causing violence against Lopez Nunez, his family, and his
associates and, as a result, became principal leaders and drug traffickers
within the Sinaloa Cartel.
Perez Salas was considered such a threat to the U.S that
the State Department offered a reward of up to $3 million for information
leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
News reports have
suggested that the Mexican Army's capture of Perez Sakas was personal. The
Mexicans noted that Perez Salas was responsible for the attack
on an unguarded apartment complex that houses soldiers’ families in 2019.
In order to
pressure the army to release Ovidio Guzman, one of the sons of drug lord
"El Chapo" Guzman, cartel gunmen surrounded the army families'
housing complex in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, and fired shots at it
repeatedly. The cartel gunman later took hostages.
The army was
shocked at the attack, as the soldiers relied on an unwritten rule that
soldiers' wives and children were not to be targeted by the drug cartels. Afterwards,
the Mexican military pursued Perez Salas with a vengeance.
The capture of Nestor Isidro Perez Salas is a serious
blow to the cartel.
Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.
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