Colombia’s most wanted drug trafficker, Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as“Otoniel”, was captured in the northwest of the country, the Colombian government announced on Saturday (October 23).
“Special recognition to the security forces (…) for the capture in Necocli of Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias “Otoniel”, senior leader of the Clan del Golfo ”, said on Twitter Emilio Archila, adviser to President Ivan Duque.
The Clan del Golfo is the most powerful gang of drug traffickers in Colombia, the world’s largest exporter of cocaine.
Arrested near the border with Panama
Otoniel’s arrest represents the Colombian government’s biggest blow to organized crime in the country. The United States had offered a reward of $ 5 million for his capture.
The drug trafficker was captured in Necocli, one of the main strongholds of Clan del Golfo, near the border with Panama.
Otoniel, 50, was the head of a drug trafficking gang made up of former members of paramilitary groups who waged a bitter struggle against leftist guerrillas until the 2010s.
The Clan del Golfo is present in nearly 300 municipalities across the country, according to independent think tank Indepaz.