AGC chief 'Otoniel,' Colombia's most wanted arrested
by Adriaan Alsema
October 23, 2021
Colombia’s most wanted man, paramilitary leader “Otoniel,” has been arrested by the security forces, the government said Saturday.
According to newspaper El Colombiano, the commander of paramilitary group AGC was captured in an operation in Necocli, a municipality on the Caribbean coast.
The government’s peace commissioner, Emilio Archila, confirmed the arrest.
The arrest of Otoniel ends the largest manhunt since Pablo Escobar escaped from prison in 1991.
“Operation Agamenon,” which sought to capture or kill the AGC chief, was announced by former President Juan Manuel Santos in February 2012 but without results for almost 10 years.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/agc-chief-otoniel-colombias-most-wanted-arrested/
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Issued on: 24/10/2021 - 02:32
The Colombian Army's escort the country's most-wanted drug lord Dairo Antonio Usuga after his capture Handout Colombian army/AFP
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Dairo Antonio Usuga, who headed the country's largest narco-trafficking gang known as the Gulf Clan, was captured near one of his main outposts in Necocli, near the border with Panama.
Images released by the government showed the 50-year-old Otoniel in handcuffs and surrounded by soldiers.
"This is the hardest strike to drug trafficking in our country this century," president Ivan Duque said in a message, adding that the arrest was "only comparable to the fall of Pablo Escobar," the famed Colombian narco-trafficking kingpin.
The United States had offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of Otoniel, who is one of the most feared men in Colombia.
Otoniel was indicted in the United States in 2009, and faces extradition proceedings to the country, where he would appear in the Southern District of New York federal court.
More:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211024-colombia-s-most-wanted-drug-lord-otoniel-captured
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Colombian kingpin 'Otoniel' arrested in 'biggest blow to drug trafficking since fall of Pablo Escobar'
Saturday's operation, named Osiris, involved more than 500 members of Colombia's special forces and 22 helicopters, according to defence minister Diego Molano. The operation, which resulted in the death of one police officer, brought to an end years-long efforts to find Otoniel.
Sunday 24 October 2021 02:55, UK
A notorious Colombian drug kingpin has been arrested in what has been described as the biggest blow to the country's trafficking network since the death of Pablo Escobar.
Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, was captured by the armed forces during an operation in a rural area of the South American nation's Uraba region.
Both the Colombian and US governments had been willing to pay a premium for information about the gang leader's network and whereabouts - three billion pesos (£577,000) and $5m (£3.6m) respectively.
The drug kingpin has been the focus of years-long efforts to capture him
Otoniel is accused of sending dozens of shipments of cocaine to the US, killing police officers, illegal mining, recruiting minors, and sexually abusing children, among other crimes.
More:
https://news.sky.com/story/colombian-kingpin-otoniel-arrested-in-biggest-blow-to-drug-trafficking-since-fall-of-pablo-escobar-12442968
