The United States accuses Otoniel of trafficking tons of cocaine into the country

USA announced this Thursday several charges of drug trafficking against the head of the Colombian criminal gang Clan del Golfo, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, alias Otonielwhom he considers one of the “most dangerous” drug lords in the world and who he blames for exporting tons of cocaine to the country.

Othnielextradited Wednesday from Colombia to New York, is accused of “leading a continuing criminal enterprise” between 2003 and October 2021, when he was captured, and “participating in an international conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowingly and with the intent that drugs would be illegally imported into USA”.

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This was announced by federal prosecutor Breon Peace at a press conference, prior to the capo’s first appearance before the judge in charge of the case, Vera Scanlon.

Peace described Othniel as a bloodthirsty criminal for whom “murder was meaningless” and “violence was the main motto.”

“He is responsible for trafficking large amounts of cocaine, measured in tons, not pounds or kilos. He made huge profits, numbering in the billions. He oversaw an army of henchmen who murdered, kidnapped, and tortured victims, including Colombian police and military.”he added.

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Peace said there are records of at least 40 occasions in which the cartel brought shipments of more than a ton into the United States, usually moving them from Colombia to Central America and then to Mexico to cross the border.

The US prosecutor stressed that the Clan del Golfo is “one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world” and stressed that, after the fall of its leader, the authorities continue to work to end the organization as a whole.

According to Anne Milgram, administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), it is considered that between 2003 and 2021 the Gulf Clan tried to import more than 90,000 kilos of cocaine into the United Statesan amount whose street value today would be more than 2,000 million dollars.

Othnielarrested in October of last year, was transferred yesterday from a police headquarters in Bogotá to the Catam military base, attached to the El Dorado international airport, where he boarded a plane in which he was handed over to US authorities. according to images released by the Colombian authorities in which the capo appears crestfallen and handcuffed.

“His face said it all: he was not happy to visit this great city”, added at the press conference Ricky Patel, special agent of National Security, who assured that the capo arrived in New York as “a defeated man” and that his image should send a clear message to other drug traffickers about the future that awaits them.

Source: Elcomercio

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