Colombian President Iván Duque reports the extradition of ‘the most dangerous drug lord in the world’ on Twitter. The Americans wanted to see Otoniel arrested and previously offered a reward of 5 million dollars (4.7 million euros) for information about his whereabouts.
Duque likened Otoniel’s arrest last October to the fall of Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellín cartel, who was shot dead by police in 1993.
Otoniel’s Clan del Golfo gang consists of 1,200 armed members, most of whom are former far-right paramilitaries. The Colombian authorities already started an operation in 2016 against the now 50-year-old drug lord.
Otoniel’s sister, Johana Usuga, was arrested last year and extradited to the US to face drug trafficking and money laundering charges.