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Dairo Antonio Úsuga aka »Otoniel« (centre) at a military airport in Bogotá
Photo: Press Office of the Colombian President / AP / dpa
Around six months after his arrest, Colombia's top boss of the Colombian drug cartel "Clan del Golfo" (Gulf Clan), Dairo Antonio Úsuga alias "Otoniel", has been extradited to the USA.
This was announced by Colombian President Iván Duque on Wednesday (local time).
Before his arrest, "Otoniel" was the country's most wanted drug lord.
"Today legality, the rule of law, public authority and justice triumph," Duque said in a video published on Twitter.
Otoniel is “only comparable to Pablo Escobar”.
According to Duque, Otoniel was arrested in his jungle hideout in the Urabá region in the northwest of the South American country at the end of October and taken to the capital, Bogotá.
Since then he has been in custody.
In addition to drug trafficking, the 50-year-old is also accused of murder, extortion, kidnapping, conspiracy and the recruitment of minors.
He has been indicted in three courts in the US and is on the US Drug Enforcement Agency's Most Wanted List.
"Once he has served these sentences, he will return to Colombia to pay for the crimes he committed in our country," Duque said in a video.
The »Clan del Golfo«, which mainly recruits its members from former right-wing paramilitaries, is considered to be one of the most powerful drug organizations in Colombia, responsible for smuggling tons of cocaine into Central and North America.
He is also involved in illegal mining and racketeering and is responsible for numerous murders and expulsions.
bbr/dpa