NEW YORK – The former leader of the Colombian drug gang the Clan del Golfo, Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known as “Otoniel”, pleaded guilty this Wednesday to drug trafficking in a federal court in New York.
The drug lord could be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years and must pay $216 million, according to the Justice Department in a statement.
“With today’s guilty plea, the reign of violence and blood of one of the biggest Colombian drug traffickers since Pablo Escobar has ended,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
Otoniel pleaded guilty to working for a criminal organization, maritime conspiracy to introduce narcotics into the United States, and conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
“Tons of cocaine moved with my permission and my orders from Colombia to Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico,” with a final destination in the US, Otoniel read before Judge Dora Irizarry of the Eastern District Court of New York.
Otoniel was extradited from Colombia to New York in May 2022.
This article will be updated.
