Known as “Otoniel”: Colombia extradites most wanted drug lord to USA

Rand six months after his arrest, Colombia’s most wanted drug lord and top boss of the Colombian drug cartel “Clan del Golfo” (Gulf Clan), Dario Antonio Úsuga aka Otoniel, has been extradited to the US. This was announced by Colombian President Ivan Duque on Wednesday. “Today legality, rule of law, public authority and justice triumph,” Duque wrote on Twitter. Otoniel was “comparable only to Pablo Escobar,” the country’s most famous drug lord, who was shot dead by police in 1993.

Local media circulated images of a convoy of armored vehicles escorted by heavily armed police officers heading to Bogotá airport. Photos of Otoniel handcuffed aboard a jet were also released.

Otoniel was arrested at the end of October after a month-long search in his jungle hideout in the Urabá region in the north-west of the South American country and taken to the capital, Bogotá. Since then he has been in custody.

extradition disputed

In addition to drug trafficking, the 50-year-old is also accused of murder, extortion, kidnapping, conspiracy and the recruitment of minors. In America, he was charged with drug trafficking in New York and is on the US Drug Enforcement Most Wanted List. The US government had offered a $5 million reward.

Victims’ relatives had called for a stay of extradition, believing that this procedure would “deprive justice of a paramilitary leader who has committed crimes against humanity in our country.” They invoked their right to know the truth about his crimes and to receive compensation.

But the Colombian judiciary finally gave the green light for his extradition, Úsuga’s defense team told AFP. Once “Otoniel” has served his sentence in the US, he will “return to Colombia and pay for all his crimes committed in our country,” assured Duque.

Powerful cartel

The “Clan del Golfo”, which mainly recruits its members from former right-wing paramilitaries, is considered to be one of the most powerful drug organizations in Colombia, responsible for smuggling tons of cocaine into Central and North America. He is also involved in illegal mining and racketeering and is responsible for numerous murders and expulsions.

Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine. The USA is the most important sales market.