Accused Colombian Drug Lord 'Otoniel' Extradited to US

The accused Colombian drug trafficker Dairo Antonio Usuga, otherwise known as “Otoniel”, was extradited to the United States on Wednesday, May 4, to face charges at a federal court, Colombian authorities said.

Colombian President Ivan Duque, who announced the extradition in a video address, described Usuga as “the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world, a murderer of social leaders and police officers,” and an “abuser of children and adolescents.”

He also warned members of Clan del Golfo – the powerful drug cartel Usuga is accused of running – to “submit to the authorities” or “suffer the same fate” as Usuga.

Duque said that once Usuga completed any sentences in the US, he would return to his home country “to pay for the crimes he committed in Colombia.”

The US Department of State, which previously offered up to $5 million for information leading to Usuga’s arrest or conviction, described Clan del Golfo as a “heavily armed and extremely violent Colombian drug cartel” operating in 13 of Colombia’s 32 departments, and which “uses violence and intimidation to control the narcotics trafficking routes, cocaine processing laboratories, speedboat departure points, and clandestine landing strips.”

Fifty-year-old Usuga was arrested on October 23 in a remote area in Antioquia, Colombian police said.

He was expected to appear before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon, hours after landing in New York City, Reuters reported.

The US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, scheduled a press conference for 2 pm Thursday in Brooklyn to discuss the extradition. Credit: Colombian National Police via Storyful

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