WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2021) The US government wants a suspected Mexican drug trafficker facing charges of kidnapping and holding an American hostage sent to the United States for trial in Federal court, the Justice Department said in a press release.
"Luis Raul Castro Valenzuela, aka 'Chacho,' was charged with holding a US citizen, listed in the indictment by his/her initials (hereinafter "the victim"), with kidnapping and with hostage taking.� The three-count indictment also alleged that Castro Valenzuela conspired to distribute heroin and fentanyl between March 2017 and November 11, 2020," the release said on Tuesday.
The United States is pursuing the extradition of Castro Valenzuela for trial in federal court in the state of Delaware. Mexican authorities have also filed their own charges and allege that he is a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, the release said.
In February 2021, Mexican law enforcement officers rescued the victim in good health, arrested Castro-Valenzuela during an operation that also seized more than $1 million worth of illegal drugs including heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamines, the release said.
Although the US indictment was obtained in November 2020, it remained sealed until the victim was rescued and the defendant arrested, the release added.
