This Wednesday followingnoon began the process of extradition to the United States of alias Otoniel, former head of the Clan del Golfo. The Council of State lifted the restriction that it had imposed and that had stopped the sending of this man to that country. Immediately, amid strong security measures, he was transferred to Catam, where a DEA plane was waiting for him early. Follow the minute by minute of the kingpin’s extradition.
During a broadcast carried out by SEMANA, this medium first revealed images of alias Otoniel on board the plane in which he is being transferred to the United States. In one of the photos, the former head of the Clan del Golfo is seen handcuffed, while he sketches a slight smile. In another image he is seen crouching, wearing gray clothes and with his face covered with his hands.
SEMANA confirmed with police sources that Otoniel is in the custody of DEA agents and that the plane has already left for the United States, where he will have to answer to a court for the crimes of drug trafficking, arms trafficking and selective homicide.
Minute by minute:
10:40 pm Sergio Fajardo describes Otoniel’s extradition as “hasty” and says that it “sows doubts.”
“The truth and justice in Colombia cannot be removed, today the hasty extradition of alias Otoniel sows doubts and deepens the pain of the victims. The weight of the law once morest these criminals has to be effective in Colombia,” said the presidential candidate of the Centro Esperanza coalition.
10:25 pm Rodolfo Hernández questions the extradition of Otoniel.
“Extraditing Otoniel, or any other, before he testifies and is accountable, is to renounce the country’s sovereignty and mock Colombian justice. This government should be judged,” said the former mayor of Bucaramanga and presidential candidate on Twitter.
10:00 pm The Brooklyn prison, the prison in the United States that would await Otoniel.
The Brooklyn prison, one of the maximum security prisons in the United States, might be the new place that houses Darío Antonio Úsuga, alias Otoniel, one of the largest Colombian drug traffickers who already has one foot in New York. The prison houses the most feared terrorists and extremely dangerous mafia leaders, most of whom have been extradited by the Government of that country. More information here.
9:40 p. m. The authorities released images that show the step by step of the drug trafficker’s extradition.
9:20 p. m. “We need truth and justice”: victims in Antioquia speak out once morest Otoniel’s extradition.
Given the news, the victims of the armed conflict in Antioquia have expressed their concern regarding this decision, which, according to them, might bury their right to truth and reparation.
“The extradition of Otoniel harms the victims for the truth and their reparation,” said Gerardo Vega, director of the Forjando Futuros Foundation. Otoniel is accused of committing massacres and has blue and red notices from Interpol. More information here
7:50 p. m. Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt stated that “Otoniel’s truth” is very important to the victims.
“We do not want the truth to be carried away, in the United States life will be protected (…) For the victims, Otoniel’s truth is very important, we know that he has secrets regarding important people, in addition to all the bloody events in which he He has been involved,” he said.
7:25 p. m. Defense Minister Diego Molano described Otoniel’s extradition as a victory “over impunity.”
“Today the legitimate operations of our military and police forces once morest crime are triumphing. The extradition of alias Otoniel is a triumph of justice over impunity,” said Molano.
7:05 p. m. “As a candidate I promised to capture and extradite this criminal of the worst kind and we fulfilled Colombia,” said President Iván Duque.
6:45 p. m. The Colombian ambassador to the United States, Juan Carlos Pinzón, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries to face “common threats.” “For years thousands of criminals have paid for their crimes as they should. Ending impunity for criminals once morest humanity, corrupt individuals and bandits in general is in the best interest of the country,” Pinzón said in a message on Twitter in which he shared a photo of Otoniel during the extradition process.
6:20 p. m. “No one is above the law”: President Duque following Otoniel’s extradition.
President Iván Duque made a statement this Wednesday from the Casa de Nariño in which he referred to the extradition of alias Otoniel. Duque affirmed that once he completes his sentence in the United States, he must return to Colombia and answer for his pending debts with the country’s judicial authorities.
“Dairo Antonio Úsuga alias Otoniel has been extradited, this criminal is only comparable to Pablo Escobar. He is not only the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world, but also a murderer of social leaders, an abuser of children and adolescents, a murderer of police officers and one of the most dangerous criminals on the planet,” said Duque.
6:05 p. m. Supreme Court summons alias Otoniel to testify and opens investigation to three former congressmen.
At a time when Otoniel is transferred to the United States, the Supreme Court summons him to testify. In addition, the high court opened a preliminary investigation once morest senator Miguel Ángel Pinto and former congressmen Milton A. Rodríguez, Carlos Cárdenas and Jorge Camilo Abril, splashed on the list of politicians and officials that alias Otoniel considers had some possible relationship with his criminal act.
5:55 p. m. Presidential candidate Federico Gutiérrez highlighted the extradition of the former head of the Clan del Golfo. “Otoniel’s extradition is a triumph for the country,” he said.
5:40 p. m. The opposition criticized the government. Representative Katherine Miranda, of the Alianza Verde, stated: “Oh! The government’s fear of the interview that Otoniel was going to have tomorrow with Snail News. What is the fear? Who do they want to cover up?
For his part, Senator Alexánder López, of the Democratic Pole, said: “Iván Duque’s disrespect for the judicial branch is frustrating and insulting, his legacy has been to disrespect multiple judicial decisions hidden in his jurisdiction. He has hit the State by systematically disrespecting the separation of powers. How miserable is Uribismo!”
5:30 p. m. Congressmen pronounce themselves following the news. Senator María Fernanda Cabal, from the Democratic Center, affirmed that it is a “great day for Colombia”.
“Bye, axis of evil, whoever does it pays. Goodbye, Otoniel”, said representative Edward Rodríguez, of the Democratic Center.
“It is a wise decision on the part of the Government to extradite alias Otoniel. I think the most important thing is that they pay for the crimes and that Colombian justice also has access like any criminal in the United States, they have always had access to them,” representative Juan David Vélez told SEMANA.
5:20 p. m. The plane that Otoniel is on has already left for the United States, where he will have to answer to a court in the south of the state of Florida.
5:10 p. m. SEMANA first revealed images of alias Otoniel aboard the DEA plane. See the images by clicking here
Accusation of Othniel
It should be remembered that in the indictment (indictment) the Court indicates that Otoniel led an extensive war with other drug traffickers in order to control the routes for the shipment of cocaine and territorial control. These criminal actions took place in Urabá Antioquia.
The former head of the Clan del Golfo, who was captured on October 25, 2021, had used all kinds of judicial resources to hinder his extradition. Among these were challenges to the magistrate of the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice who They were studying the request and submitting it to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
Precisely, this Tuesday the legal team of the drug trafficker had presented a replacement alleging the violation of his rights to due process and defense. This when considering that he was going to be tried twice for the same act, which is prohibited by the Political Constitution and the law.
With this request he sought to suspend the entire extradition process. However, in record time, the Ministry of Justice rejected this appeal, ensuring that both the Supreme Court and the Government have guaranteed their fundamental rights.
They had been following Otoniel’s trail for a long time. In June 2021, the director of the Police, General Jorge Vargas, had said that Otoniel and his closest men were going hungry, due to the operations of the Public Force. The capture took place four months later in Antioquia.
Regarding alias Otoniel, General Vargas said at the time: “He is the head of that drug trafficking organization (Clan del Golfo). Up to 5 million dollars are being offered for him by the Government of the United States, which collaborates hand in hand with the Colombian authorities in the capture of this criminal to bring him before the international authorities before the Southern District of Florida, or the capture in Colombia. The Government of Colombia offers up to 3,000 million pesos for his capture, that is, we are talking in Colombian money of 17,000 million pesos for this criminal”.
