Colombia’s most wanted drug dealer, Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known as ‘Otoniel’, has been arrested. Presidential adviser Emilio Archila praised “the capture in Necocli of Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias ‘Otoniel’, head of the Gulf Clan, in a tweet. The criminal group is the most powerful among Colombian drug traffickers.
His capture of the chief marks a great victory for the conservative government of President Ivan Duque, considering that the country is the first exporter of cocaine in the world. Colombia is the world’s leading supplier of cocaine, with the United States as the main market, despite half a century of attempts to crack down on drug trafficking. Washington had offered a five million dollar bounty for information leading to the arrest of Otoniel, who at the age of 50 is one of the most feared men in Colombia.
Otoniel took over the leadership of the Gulf Clan, formerly known as the Usuga Clan, from his brother Juan de Dios, who was killed by the police in 2012. The Clan is present in nearly 300 municipalities across the country, according to the independent Indepaz think tank. The organization has recently been overthrown by the police force. According to the police, the few of its members left on the loose were forced to hide in the jungle without phones.
In its final phase, Operation Osiris, as the plan to capture the country’s most wanted drug trafficker was dubbed, saw 500 members of law enforcement supported by 22 helicopters come into action. During the raid, a policeman was killed.
The images released by the Colombian government show Otoniel, strangely smiling, dressed in black, handcuffed and surrounded by armed Colombian soldiers. The drug trafficker was caught in Necocli, in a rural area in the province of Antioquia, near the border with Panama. “This is the hardest blow that has been inflicted on drug trafficking in our country in this century, comparable only to the fall of Pablo Escobar” commented the Colombian president, Ivan Duque, in a message posted on social networks. Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin cartel, which controlled up to 80% of the world trade in cocaine, was killed by the Colombian police in 1993. The one to arrest Otoniel, 50, was “the most important expedition in the jungle ever. seen in the military history of Colombia, “according to Duque.
Police have carried out a large satellite operation with US and UK agencies, Police Director General Jorge Vargas explained at a press conference. Usuga was flown to Bogota last night, where he was transferred to the police headquarters under heavy escort. The Gulf Clan is the most powerful drug gang in Colombia and the arrest of its leader represents the biggest blow that the Colombian government has inflicted on organized crime in the country.
#Colombia #Otoniel #Usuga #arrested #Escobar #wanted #trafficker