crime
US: Colombian drug lord sentenced to 45 years in prison
Dairo Antonio Usuga aka “Otoniel” will be taken away in handcuffs upon his arrival in Bogota in October 2021. photo
© Uncredited/Colombia Police Press Office/AP/dpa/Archive
Under Otoniel, the Gulf clan became Colombia’s most powerful criminal organization. The clan smuggled cocaine into the United States and is responsible for numerous murders. Now there is a verdict.
The powerful Colombian drug dealer and cartel boss Dairo Antonio Úsuga aka Otoniel is in the United States sentenced to 45 years in prison.
The judge in charge in New York found it proven that the leader of the crime syndicate “Clan del Golfo” (Golf Clan) had smuggled large quantities of cocaine into the United States. In addition, Otoniel was fined $216 million. The 51-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year.
“Otoniel ran one of the largest drug trafficking rings in the world, smuggling vast quantities of cocaine into the United States. He ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian police officers, soldiers and civilians,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland. US Attorney Breon Peace said: “The human misery caused by the defendant’s bloody reign as leader of the Gulf Clan can never be 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 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.