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The Colombian drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, alias “Otoniel”, pleaded guilty this Wednesday before a New York court to charges of cocaine trafficking for which he was extradited to USAfound the AFP.
In a hearing before the judge Dora Irizarry, Dressed in a short-sleeved blue shirt, Otoniel pleaded guilty to three counts: continued criminal enterprise, conspiring to manufacture and distribute cocaine, as well as maritime drug trafficking conspiracy, which a Florida court accused him of.
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The sum of convictions for each charge it could lead to him spending the rest of his days in jail if the judge does not take into account when issuing the ruling the fact that he has acknowledged his guilt, thus avoiding a long trial.
In addition, will have to spend 5 years on probation once the sentence is over, in addition to seeing 216 million dollars of his fortune confiscated and paying fines That could go up to $22 million.
At the end of the hearing, he read a statement in which he acknowledged having sent 96,800 kilos of cocaine to the United States through Central America and Mexico. He also admitted having joined in 1997 the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urará and since 2008 at Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) of the extreme right, then led by Daniel Rendon Herreraknown as “Don Mario”, also known as Clan del Golfo, of which he was the leader from 2009 until October 2021, when he was arrested.
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He recognized that homicides were committed in “military work” and “they gave security to laboratories and drug traffickers and charged taxes for each kilo of drugs (cocaine) that were processed and transited through the territories they controlled.”
“The AGC charged a fixed rate for each kilo that was manufactured or transported through the areas controlled by the group.”, he acknowledged.
Extradited to the United States in May 2022, the US justice system considered Otoniel, also known by the aliases of “Mao”, “Gallo” or “Mauricio Gallo”, as one “of the most dangerous and most wanted drug lords in the world.” world”.
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For Colombian authorities, his arrest was the biggest blow to drug trafficking since the death of Pablo Escobar.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
