The DEA chief Anne MilgramHe assured this Thursday that the capture and extradition of Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias Otoniel, It is part of an effort by the United States to dismantle the ‘Gulf clan’.
In an appearance before the press from New York, the head of the DEA, the FBI and the Eastern District Attorney of the city, exposed the extradition of drug trafficker alias ‘Otoniel’ as a victory for justice, whom They accuse of having entered at least 73 tons of cocaine, between 2003 and 2012.
Read here: Otoniel extradited to the US: Justice and DEA get ready to prosecute him for drug trafficking
Milgran warned that in the United States’ effort to save the lives of Americans facing an epidemic of drug use, they will persecute those who launder money and in general those who are a threat to US national security.
In that sense, the DEA confirmed that although there are many very powerful drug cartels in Mexico, with which the Clan del Golfo also has links, “90% of the cocaine that enters the United States comes from Colombia,” managed by the clan led by Otoniel.
“The DEA stops at nothing to investigate and dismantle criminal networks that threaten the safety and health of the American people,” Milgran said after explaining that the agency has been investigating Otoniel for almost 20 years.
They will seek the truth
In this press conference, the federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, thanked the collaboration of the Colombian authorities to capture ‘Otoniel’ and allow his extradition; a man who “believed himself untouchable, until now”.
After describing his criminal activities, not only drug trafficking, but also homicides, terrorism, recruitment of minors, kidnappings and sexual crimes, among other crimes, Peace promised to seek the whole truth for the relief of all the victims in Colombia.
Peace described Othniel as a bloodthirsty criminal for whom “murder was meaningless” and “violence was the main currency”.
“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 that there is evidence of at least 40 occasions in which the cartel introduced shipments of more than one ton into the United States, usually moving them from Colombia to Central America and then to Mexico to cross the border.
Homeland Security special agent Ricky Patel said “his face said it all: I was not happy to visit this great city”he added at the press conference in which he also said that the capo arrived in New York a “defeated man” and that His image should send a clear message to other drug traffickers about the future that awaits them.
