Colombia arrests alleged drug boss in blow to trafficking ring
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — One of Colombia’s most wanted drug traffickers, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, also known as “Otoniel,” has been captured in an operation carried out by the Colombian National Police in cooperation with the Colombian Military Forces, authorities said.
Úsuga, who is the leader of the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s largest drug trafficking organization, was captured in a rural area of the Chigorodo municipality, in the northwestern department of Antioquia, the government said in a statement Friday.
President Ivan Duque celebrated the capture in a message posted on Twitter, describing it as “the most important blow against drug trafficking in our history.”
The Gulf Clan is responsible for much of the cocaine that is produced in Colombia, the world’s largest producer of the drug. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
According to authorities, Úsuga, 50, faces charges in Colombia of conspiracy to commit crimes, aggravated homicide and forced disappearance. In 2009, a U.S. grand jury in New York indicted him on drug trafficking charges.