Colombia’s most wanted drug leader taken – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
Presidential adviser Emilio Archila announced the arrest of Dairo Antonio Usaga (50), best known as “Otoniel”, on Saturday.
He is now charged with, among other things, sending cocaine to the United States, killing police officers and recruiting children for the gang activities.
Usaga, who leads a group called “Clan del Golfo” (The Golf Cartel in Norwegian), was captured in the town of Necoclí in the countryside northwest of Colombia. The city is located on the Caribbean coast of the country, near the border with Panama.
According to AFP, more than 500 police officers and 22 helicopters took part in the police operation, which was thus more extensive than the operation against Pablo Escobar.
A police officer died in the operation against Usaga, says President Iván Duque, according to the BBC.
Compared to Escobar
Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano says according to the newspaper El Pais that the arrest of Usaga is a victory for the state and the law over what he believes is the biggest threat to Colombia – drug trafficking.
“This can only be compared to the arrest of Pablo Escobar,” said President Iván Duque.
Escobar was the founder and leader of the infamous Medellin cartel. He was killed when he tried to escape from police who were to arrest him in 1993.
Human Rights Watch congratulates Colombia on the arrest of Usaga.
Extensive network
Escobar was the founder and leader of the Medellin cartel and was killed when he tried to escape from the police who were to arrest him in 1993.
The Gulf clan is Colombia’s most powerful drug smuggler. according to BBC the cartel is said to have around 1800 armed members. Several of these will be recruited from paramilitary groups on the far-right in Colombia.
The group is present in almost 300 municipalities around the country, according to the independent think tank Indepaz.
Usaga has led the network for almost ten years, after his brother Juan de Dios was killed by the police during a police raid on New Year’s Day 2012. The golf cartel is heavily involved in illegal gold mining, human trafficking and extortion. The largest business is the drug trade.
Police officers died in a helicopter crash
According to the BBC’s steering network, these are some of the most important smuggling routes between Colombia and the United States and Colombia and Russia.
The United States had offered a bounty of $ 5 million for information that could lead to the arrest of 50-year-old Usaga. Earlier this year, Usaga’s cousin El Flaco was arrested and sent to the United States, where he is now in custody.
In March, Usaga’s sister was also arrested, according to Reuters. Colombian authorities believe that efforts against the Golf Cartel have consistently helped to reduce the network’s strength in recent years.
The hunt for Usaga has been going on for several years. In a report from 2015, the BBC wrote that about 1200 security forces worked to arrest the 50-year-old. That same year, Us arrested his police girlfriend, who is said to have been involved in the management of the financial network.
In 2015, the police had seized 5.5 tonnes of cocaine in the hunt for Usaga. In addition, there were a number of coca plantations. That same year, Colombia’s then defense minister told that 16 policemen lost their lives when a Black Hawk helicopter involved in the chase crashed.