Dario Antonio Usuga was at the head of the “Gulf Clan”, the country’s first mafia network. If his interpellation, Saturday, October 23, is a good news for the government, it does not mean the end of the activities of his cartel.
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Man hunting ended. The most sought-after narcothaffy of Colombia, Dario Antonio Usuga David, Alias Otoniel, 49, was arrested by the police on Saturday, October 23, on the Caribbean coast, in the northwestern country. More than 300 men and 22 helicopters were mobilized for the final phase of the operation jointly conducted by the army, the Navy and the Colombian police. The photos and videos of his arrest were broadcast at the beginning of the afternoon. Surrounded by military, Mr. Usuga appears in black t-shirt and plastic boots, handcuffed and strangely smiling before climbing the helicopter for Bogota.
At the head of the “Gulf Clan”, the most powerful Mapius Organization of Colombia, Mr. Usuga is accused of exporting dozens of tons of cocaine. It is also sought after for homicides, arms trafficking, population displacement, recruitment of minors and sexual crimes. Otoniel is the subject of 122 mandates of arrest, six convictions and two requests for extradition, according to the prosecution. The United States offered $ 5 million (€ 4.3 million) for the capture of this peasant son who became great criminal, the Colombian authorities, 3 billion pesos (682,000 euros). Bogota will probably only be a step for Mr. Usuga, who should finish his days in an American prison.
President Ivan Duque congratulated the military for this operation, described as “biggest shot in Narcotrafic since the beginning of the century”. He compared the arrest of Otoniel to the death of the famous narcothaftic Pablo Escobar, murdered by the armed forces in 1993. “The Capture of Otoniel represents a victory of the State against the main threat that Colombia affroned, to Knowing Narcotrafic, “said Defense Minister Diego Molano. Colombia is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine.
A long trail
But Otoniel, as important as it is in the mafia hierarchy, has never reached the media celebrity of Pablo Escobar in his country. The country has discovered its face than in 2017. On the occasion of a visit to the Pope, the narcothaftifice published on that date a video to let it know that it wanted to engage in peace negotiations with the Government. Like the great guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which had just filed their weapons. The Government of Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018), then in power, did not follow up on the proposal.
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