The head of the notorious Colombian drug trafficking organization known as the “Clan del Golfo,” or Gulf Cartel, has been extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and of leading a continuing criminal enterprise.
Dairo Antonio Úsuga, also known by the alias Otoniel, is considered by Colombian and U.S. authorities to be the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world.
According to court documents, between June 2003 and October 2021, Úsuga led a criminal organization responsible for exporting multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America for the ultimate importation into the United States.
He is also responsible for the forced displacement of communities, multiple homicides of civilians and Colombian law enforcement and military personnel, abuse of minors and illegal recruitment, said the Director General of the National Police of Colombia Jorge Luis Vargas, in his Twitter account.
Úsuga, who was sent to the U.S. on Wednesday, faces multiple drug-trafficking charges in New York and Florida district courts.
Prior to Úsuga’s. arrest, the U.S. State Department offered $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. In Colombia, the government offered a reward of up to 3 billion Colombian pesos, about $800,000, for information regarding his whereabouts.
According to the U.S Justice Department, the Gulf Cartel is one of the most violent and most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and it is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world.
Drug Enforcement Adminstration chief Anne Milgram said in a press conference on Thursday that between 2003 and 2021 the Gulf Cartel attempted to import over 90,000 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S., with an estimated street value of over $2 billion.
After the extradition of Úsuga, the Gulf Cartel declared an armed strike in three provinces of Colombia, which resulted in the closing of businesses and the burning of several vehicles.
Úsuga’s extradition was approved by presidential decree after the Colombian State Council denied an appeal by several victims of his alleged crimes who wished to see him tried in Colombian court.
Colombian President Iván Duque said in a press conference that once Úsuga completes his sentences in the United States, he will return to be tried for the crimes he committed in Colombia.
Úsuga was captured by Colombian authorities on Oct. 23 in a rural area of the northwestern Urabá region in Antioquia province, near the Colombia-Panama border. For years, he evaded capture by periodically moving through a network of rural safe houses and refraining from using a cellphone, instead relying on couriers for communication.
At the time of his arrest, the alleged cartel leader was facing at least 122 charges for drug trafficking, criminal association, murder and money laundering, according to the Colombian Attorney General’s office.
Úsuga was arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty and will remain in custody due to his “dangerousness” and “high risk” of flight, a federal judge said.
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