- Colombian drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga has been sentenced to 45 years in prison in the United States.
- In addition, there is a fine of 216 million US dollars.
- The 51-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year.
- The judge in charge in New York saw it as proven that the leader of the crime syndicate “Clan del Golfo” (Golf Clan) had smuggled large quantities of cocaine into the United States.
“Otoniel ran one of the largest drug trafficking rings in the world and smuggled huge amounts of cocaine into the United States. He ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian police officers, soldiers and civilians,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Today’s long sentence sends a message to other cartel leaders.
US Attorney Breon Peace said: “The human misery caused by the defendant’s bloody reign as leader of the Gulf Clan is never fully grasped because of its scale, but the lengthy sentence handed down today sends a message to other cartel leaders that the United States will seek their arrest and extradition to hold them accountable in our courts.”
Otoniel «only comparable to Pablo Escobar»
Otoniel was on the US Drug Enforcement Most Wanted List. According to Colombian President Iván Duque, he was arrested at the end of October 2021 in his jungle hideout in the Urabá region in the north-west of the South American country and taken to the capital Bogotá.
Duque said on the extradition of Otoniel in May 2022 that “legality, the rule of law, public authority and justice” triumphed. Otoniel is “only comparable to Pablo Escobar”. Duque said at the time that he would return to Colombia after serving his sentences in the US to pay for the crimes he committed in Colombia.
6000 armed members
Otoniel led the Gulf clan between 2003 and 2021, turning it into the most powerful criminal organization in Colombia. The criminal syndicate recruits its members mainly from former right-wing paramilitaries and is said to have around 6,000 men under arms.
In addition to drug trafficking, the Gulf clan is also involved in illegal mining and racketeering and is responsible for numerous murders and expulsions.