publishedMay 5, 2022, 4:20 p.m.
Dario Antonio Úsuga aka Otoniel was extradited to the United States. At the hearing of the 50-year-old, which was officially canceled due to the risk of absconding, he also made allegations once morest several former members of the Colombian government.
The “Clan del Golfo” (Golf Clan) is one of the most powerful drug organizations in Colombia.
AFP
Colombia’s President Ivan Duque tweeted on Wednesday that Otoniel can only be compared to Pablo Escobar.
AFP
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Dario Antonio Úsuga aka Otoniel has been charged with drug trafficking by the Southern District of New York.
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At the end of October he was arrested in his jungle hideout in the Urabá region of northwestern Colombia.
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In addition to drug trafficking, the 50-year-old is also accused of murder, extortion, kidnapping, conspiracy and the recruitment of minors.
Colombia’s largest drug dealer “Otoniel” was extradited to the United States on Wednesday. “Dairo Antonio Úsuga aka Otoniel has been extradited,” Colombian President Ivan Duque said on Twitter. Úsuga is the boss of the Gulf clan, one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world. He was arrested in October 2021 following a month-long search in the Panama jungle and is now to answer before a court in New York.
Úsuga is “one of the most dangerous criminals in the world,” explained Duque. He compared “Otoniel” to Pablo Escobar, the country’s most famous drug lord, who was shot dead by police in 1993.
The 50-year-old “Otoniel” was accused of drug trafficking in a court in New York in 2009. The US government had offered a prize of five million dollars on his head. Colombia is still the world’s largest producer of cocaine. The USA is the most important sales market.
Local media circulated images of a convoy of armored vehicles escorted by heavily armed police officers heading to Bogotá airport. The Colombian Presidency also released photos of Otoniel, handcuffed and wearing a gray jacket, on board a jet.
Relatives of ‘Otoniel’s’ victims had called for a ‘stay’ of extradition, believing that this procedure would ‘deprive justice of a paramilitary leader who has committed crimes once morest humanity in our country’. They invoked their right to know the truth regarding his crimes and to receive compensation.
Colombian judiciary gave the green light for extradition
But the Colombian judiciary finally gave the green light for his extradition, Úsuga’s defense team told AFP. As soon as “Otoniel” has served his sentence in the United States, he will “return to Colombia and pay for all his crimes committed in our country,” assured Duque.
The Colombian judiciary has accused him of murder, terrorism, underage recruitment, kidnapping and sex crimes. In addition, Úsuga, who comes from a farming family in northwestern Colombia, is accused of massacres from his time as a fighter for a Marxist guerrilla group and right-wing extremist paramilitaries. “Otoniel” became the leader of the Clan del Golfo in 2012 following the death of his brother Juan de Dios, known as “Giovanni”, in clashes with the police.
The Clan del Golfo was recently blamed for 30 percent (regarding 300 tons) of cocaine exports from Colombia. It has around 1,600 fighters and is represented in around a quarter of Colombian communities. However, following the authorities eliminated a number of heads from “Otoniel’s” inner circle, the cartel is said to have been weakened.
Statements by “Otoniel” incriminate the Colombian army
The drug lord had been held under strict security measures since his arrest in Bogotá. However, there were several incidents. For example, recordings of his statements before the Truth Commission, which investigated human rights violations during the armed conflict in Colombia up until the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC rebels in 2016, disappeared.
The Colombian police had also officially canceled a hearing of “Otoniel” because of the risk of absconding. However, the drug lord had reportedly testified that the Colombian army continued to work with paramilitary groups in some parts of the country. He had therefore also made allegations once morest several former members of the government.
(AFP/sys)
