In response to the extradition of its leader, the drug trafficker “Otoniel”, to the United States on Wednesday May 4, the Clan del Golfo cartel murdered 8 people this Monday May 9 in targeted attacks across the country.
After declaring an “armed strike” last Thursday, the members of the Colombian cartel have carried out their threats. In a statement released on Monday, the Ministry of Defense assured that “three civilian homicides have been reported”. The same source also reported three soldiers and two policemen killed in another offensive in northern Colombia.
A humanitarian caravan escorted by soldiers was the target of an explosive attack on Monday, causing the death of a soldier and a policeman, while injuring four members of the security forces, according to the press release relayed Monday by the Colombian ministry.
Extradited to the United States last week, Dairo Antonio Usuga David, nicknamed “Otoniel”, pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court to charges of international cocaine trafficking against him.
190 vehicles burned
Determined to terrorize Colombians in retaliation for the arrest of Colombia’s biggest drug trafficker, the Clan del Golfo has banned all activity in the areas under its control, mainly in the north of the country.
According to the governor of the province of Sucre, Hector Espinosa, they also prohibited residents of the region from traveling under penalty of execution. The drug traffickers finally set fire to more than 190 vehicles on the various roads of the country.
Three weeks before the presidential election in Colombia, President Ivan Duque promised Monday to respond firmly to these attacks carried out by the cartel responsible for 30 to 60% of cocaine exports in the country. “They will see a deployment that they have never seen against this structure,” assured the Colombian president following a security council.