Who is Otoniel, the most wanted Colombian drug lord that was arrested

Otoniel, who is officially called Dairo Antonio Úsuga is the head of the Gulf Clan, considered the largest drug trafficking group in Colombia; his crimes led him to establish himself as one of the most wanted drug lords internationally.

Meanwhile, after his arrest, the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, offered a press conference in which he declared that this is “the hardest blow to drug trafficking of this century in Colombia.”

He, however, assured that it is “comparable only with the fall of Pablo Escobar”.

“Otoniel was the most feared drug trafficker in the world, a murderer of policemen, soldiers, social leaders, and a recruiter of minors,” he added.

Otoniel was born in the municipality of Necoclí, in Antioquia, and from there he began to strengthen his criminal emporium. Initially, he was a member of the People’s Liberation Army (EPL), where he became a criminal at only 16 years of age.

Later he separated himself from this subversive group, to later join the ranks of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group that operated until 2006.

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In that block, he was under the orders of Daniel Rendón Herrera, alias ‘Don Mario’, with whom he would start in the business of extortion and money laundering. On September 3, 2005, Úsuga demobilized again, when the AUC disintegrated.

Although one police officer died during the operation, Otoniel, 50, was seized by Colombian authorities in a rural area of Colombia’s Uraba region, located in Antioquia province, Reuters reported.

Colombian military officers captured the leader of the most powerful armed group in the country, el Clan del Golfo, Saturday. Dairo Antonio Usuga , known as Otonie has been trafficking illegal drugs and humans for years #Otoniel #golfo #Colombia pic.twitter.com/kknix2G0aP

— Erika Angulo (@ErikaNews) October 24, 2021

The cartel he led is comprised of former members of terrorist organisations, according to the State Department, and uses violence and intimidation to control narcotics trafficking routes, cocaine processing laboratories.

Otoniel was indicted by the Southern District of New York in 2009.

Before he was arrested, the State Department had offered up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. In addition, Colombia offered a reward of up to 3 billion Colombian pesos (about $800,000) for information on his whereabouts.

Duque ended his televised speech Saturday with a message for other drug traffickers, saying: “To all criminals and narco-traffickers: either you surrender, or we will come and get you.”