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 the United States, AFP confirmed.
Source: AFP
In a hearing before 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 a maritime conspiracy for drug trafficking, of which a Florida court accused him.
The sum of convictions for each charge could lead to 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, He 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 pay fines that could go up to $22 million.
It may interest: Zelensky says delivery of heavy tanks is “important step” for victory against Russia
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 the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urará in 1997 and since 2008 the extreme-right Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), then led by Daniel Rendón Herrera, known as “Don Mario”, also known as the Gulf Clan. , of which he was the leader from 2009 until October 2021, when he was arrested.
He recognized that in themilitary work, homicides were committed” and “they gave security to laboratories and drug traffickers and collected taxes for each kilo of drugs (cocaine) that was 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.
Also read: Argentine Prosecutor’s Office requests life imprisonment for those accused of killing Fernando Báez
Extradited to the United States in May 2022, US justice 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”.
For Colombian authorities, his arrest was the biggest blow to drug trafficking since the death of Pablo Escobar.
