Joe Biden on Thursday sent his thanks to the Mexican authorities and law enforcement after the arrest of “El Nini”, a suspected trafficker of fentanyl, this synthetic drug which is wreaking havoc in the United States.
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“I want to thank (Mexican President Andres Manuel) Lopez Obrador, the Mexican army and special forces for the arrest of El Nini, and salute the courageous men and women of the Mexican security forces who carried out this operation. “, declared the American president in a press release.
Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, alias “El Nini”, is close to the sons of drug lord Joaquin Guzman, alias “El Chapo”, who is serving a life sentence in the United States. He was arrested in Culiacan in the northwest of the country.
The man “was for three years one of the most wanted criminals by Mexico and the United States,” said Joe Biden, adding: “our two countries are safer now that he is behind bars. »
The 81-year-old Democrat, who promised to fight against fentanyl trafficking, recalled that another leader of the same group of drug traffickers, called the “Chapitos”, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, had been arrested this year.
The name “Chapitos” refers to the sons of drug lord Joaquin Guzman, aka “El Chapo,” who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart had promised, during a meeting on November 17 in San Francisco, to cooperate more closely against drug trafficking and in particular fentanyl.
This powerful synthetic opiate is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United States.
The drug, made from products very often coming from China, is according to Washington introduced into the United States by Mexican cartels, and in particular by the Sinaloa cartel.