Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known by various aliases including “Otoniel,†was extradited to the United States from Colombia.
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He is to face charges in the Eastern District of New York of leading a continuing criminal enterprise and participating in an international cocaine manufacturing and distribution conspiracy for his role as the leader of the paramilitary, multibillion dollar drug organization known as the “Clan del Golfo†(CDG).
On October 23, 2021, Úsuga David was arrested in the jungles of Colombia following an extensive capture operation by Colombian military and law enforcement personnel. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.
As alleged in court documents, between June 2003 and October 2021, Úsuga David was the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for exporting multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America for ultimate importation into the United States. Additionally, Úsuga David participated in an international conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States. The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Merrick B. Garland, United States Attorney General, Anne Milgram, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ricky J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), announced the extradition and charges.
According to court filings, between 2012 and through his capture by Colombian military and law enforcement forces on October 23, 2021, Úsuga David was the supreme leader of the CDG.
The CDG is one of the most violent and most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and it is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world.
With as many as 6,000 members, the CDG exercises military control over vast amounts of territory in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, one of the most lucrative drug trafficking areas within Colombia due to its proximity to the Colombia-Panama border and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
Clad in military uniforms, CDG members employ military tactics and weapons to reinforce their power and incite wars and violence against rival drug traffickers, paramilitary organizations, and Colombian law enforcement authorities who threaten the CDG’s control.
The indictment further alleges that the CDG funds its operations primarily through drug trafficking.
Among other things, it imposes a “tax†on any drug traffickers operating in territory under its control, charging fees for every kilogram of cocaine manufactured, stored, or transported through areas controlled by the organization.
The CDG also directly exports cocaine, and coordinates the production, purchase, and transfer of weekly and bi-weekly multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia into Central America and Mexico for ultimate importation to the United States. ■