Colombia’s armed forces captured Dairo Antonio Usuga, a wanted drug lord. Otoniel was captured in his hideout near the border connecting Panama and  North-western Colombia. Usuga  was caught on Saturday, October 23, 2021 after the Colombian government announced a 582,000 Colombian peso ($800,000 US dollars) reward to capture him. 

Dairo Antonio Usuga was very famous. His nickname Otoniel was well known around Colombia. Otoniel is a 50 year old drug lord of the Clan Del Golfo. When he was arrested, there were 132 warrants issued against him. He is accused of sexually abusing children, recruiting minors, shipping illegal drugs to the United States, killing police officers, and many other crimes. 

Colombia’s armed forces’ plan to capture Dario Antonio Usuga was not pretty. The whole plan included 500 soldiers and 22 helicopters, and it led to one dying. It was difficult capturing Otoniel since he was the drug lord of the Clan del Golfo, which is Colombia’s largest criminal gang.  

A drug lord is a leader of a group that makes sure everything goes according to plan in an illegal drug trade. The position of being a “drug lord” is attained if the old drug lord is either dead or arrested.  Since the 70s, there have been drug lords all over Colombia. Some famous drug lords are Fabio Ochoa Vasquez, Fidel Castano, Griselda Blanco, Roberto Escobar, Pablo Escobar, and many more. 

However, Colombia is not the only country that has drug lords. The areas with the most drug lords are Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and the Bahamas. So while it is excellent news Usuga was captured, there is much work to be done.