On Saturday, Colombian military forces apprehended the man described as the world’s most dangerous drug trafficker during an operation in the Uraba district of Antioquia province (October 23). Officials stated the operation to apprehend Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known as Otoniel, comprised more than 500 Colombian special troops and 22 helicopters.
When he was apprehended during an operation this weekend, he told security personnel, “You beat me,” the authorities stated on Sunday (October 25), promising to transfer him quickly to the United States. According to President Ivan Duque, Otoniel is suspected of shipping hundreds of tonnes of cocaine each year, as well as killing police officers, recruiting juveniles, and sexually assaulting youngsters.
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Colombia’s government will file a request to extradite Otoniel to the United States with the Andean country’s Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Minister Wilson Ruiz said on Sunday, adding that the procedure may take four weeks. “All those who commit international crimes will face extradition,” Defense Minister Diego Molano told journalists in Necocli, near where Otoniel, 50, was apprehended.
Colombia had offered a reward of up to 3 billion pesos (about $800,000) for Otoniel’s whereabouts. In comparison, the United States had offered a reward of $5 million for assistance in finding him. Molano stated that both prizes would be paid, describing Otoniel as “the worst sort” of criminal.
Following periods as a left-wing guerrilla and then as a paramilitary, Otoniel rose to become the leader of the drug-trafficking organization Clan del Golfo or Gulf Clan. According to Colombia’s national police statistics, the Clan del Golfo has a presence in 12 of the country’s 32 regions and has 3,800 members. Authorities claim that the Clan del Golfo is also involved in illicit mining. The government also charges the gang of assassinating and terrorizing community leaders around the country.
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General Jorge Vargas, Colombia’s police commander, claimed Clan del Golfo members provided a lot of the intelligence that led to Otoniel’s apprehension. “A number of members in the Clan del Golfo betrayed him,” Vargas added. According to the Defense Ministry, Otoniel smuggled between 180 and 200 tonnes of cocaine each year with the Clan del Golfo and is responsible for killing more than 200 members of Colombia’s security services.
According to police, Colombian authorities initiated Operation Agamemnon in 2016 to close in on Otoniel, murdering and detaining hundreds of his lieutenants, seizing his assets, and forcing him to be constantly on the run. Otoniel stated his intention to surrender to justice in a video released in 2017, but the plot never materialized.
