They arrest alias "Otoniel", maximum head of the Clan del Golfo 1:50
(Reuters) -
Daniel Rendón Herrera, who was once considered Colombia's most wanted drug trafficker, pleaded guilty in the United States on Tuesday to charges of distributing narcotics and supporting a terrorist group as part of a cocaine empire of US $ 1 billion.
The US authorities reported that Rendón Herrera, 56, accepted his responsibility in the trafficking of at least 73,645 kilograms of cocaine that spread addiction and death in his country of origin and in the United States.
Prosecutors said the defendant was also the leader of a group known as Los Urabeños along with Dairo Antonio Úsuga, an alleged Colombian drug lord known as "Otoniel," who was captured last month in what authorities in Colombia called a blow to drug trafficking.
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Herrera, known as "Don Mario," pleaded guilty to US District Judge Dora Irizarry in Brooklyn.
He was accused of sending cocaine to the United States and of buying weapons for the paramilitary combatants he commanded.
"I associated with other people to collect taxes for the transportation of coca that came to the United States," Rendón Herrera told Irizarry through an interpreter.
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The defendant faces a life sentence and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, in addition to $ 47 million between seizures and a fine.
Rendón Herrera was captured in the Colombian jungle in 2009 and extradited to the United States in 2018. He had previously pleaded not guilty.
Alias 'Otoniel', the "most wanted" drug trafficker in Colombia who began committing crimes at age 16
Irizarry said that Rendón Herrera is likely to be deported due to his guilty plea and that the time he spent in Colombian prisons will be credited in the sentence.
Prosecutors said he faces sentences in Colombia for convictions related to drug trafficking, weapons violations and "numerous" homicides.
Usuga, 50, rose to lead the Urabeños, also known as the Clan del Golfo, a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking.
The Government of Colombia promised to swiftly extradite Úsuga to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.