Last Updated on: 24th October 2021, 08:20 pm
Who is Dairo Antonio Usuga? Biography, Wiki
Colombian security forces arrested Dairo Antonio Usuga, the country’s most-wanted drug trafficker, a rural caudillo who had fled for more than a decade by bribing state officials and teaming up with fighters from left and right.
President Iván Duque compared the arrest of Dairo Antonio Usuga on Saturday to the arrest of Pablo Escobar three decades ago.
The Colombian military presented Usuga to the media with handcuffs and rubber boots, which were preferred by farmers in the countryside.
Dairo Antonio Usuga’s Age
His current age is 50 years.
Colombia’s Most Feared Drug Lord
Usuga, better known by his alias Otoniel, is the alleged leader of the formidable Clan del Golfo, whose army of assassins terrorized much of northern Colombia to take control of the main cocaine smuggling routes through the dense jungles of the United States.
He has long been on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of most-wanted refugees, for whose capture he offered a bounty of $5 million.
He was first tried in Manhattan federal court in 2009 on narcotics charges and alleged support for a far-right paramilitary group that the US government has called a terrorist organization.
Subsequent charges in federal courts in Brooklyn and Miami accused him of importing at least 73 tons of cocaine through countries like Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Honduras between 2003 and 2014.
But like many of his gunmen, he also rose through the ranks of various guerrilla groups, most recently claiming to lead the Colombian Gaitanist self-defense forces after a shootout by the Colombian left in the mid-20th century.
Why Was He Arrested?
Authorities said U.S. and British intelligence services led more than 500 Colombian soldiers and special forces to the suga jungle hideout, which is protected by eight security rings.
For years, Úsuga has gone unnoticed by authorities, avoiding the prominence of Colombia’s most notorious drug traffickers.
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What Police Have Investigated Up Till Now?
His arrest gives a boost to the conservative Duque, whose public order rhetoric does not match the high production of cocaine.
As per the White House report, the area used to produce coca, the raw material for cocaine, increased 16% last year to a record 245,000 hectares, a level not seen in two decades of eradication efforts.
