The United States has indicted 17 top members of Colombia’s most powerful neo-paramilitary drug trafficking organization, the “Urabeños,” and will grant a $5 million reward for its boss, “Otoniel,” both the US and Colombian government announced Tuesday.
At a press conference at the presidential palace in Bogota, President Juan Manuel Santos announced that Otoniel, who’s been the target of an intense yet fruitless manhunt for months, now faces a $5 million reward.
Santos was accompanied by US Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and Acting US Attorney Kelly P. Currie of the Eastern District of New York.
Both the US Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY, and the one in Miami, FL indicted “Otoniel,” and the alleged founder of the group, the incarcerated “Don Mario.”
Other alleged senior members of Colombia’s most feared neo-paramilitary group were charged either in both or in one of the courts.
“These indictments represent the United States’ steadfast bilateral commitment to conclusively dismantle what is the largest and arguably the last of the nationally structured criminal bands in Colombia,” said DEA Regional Director Jay Bergman.
Indicted leaders
Santos, who had already announced a major manhunt in March, said that he would continue to persecute the group and its leader.
Chasing ‘Otoniel’, the elusive top boss of Colombia’s drug trade
The “Urabeños,” or “Clan Usuga,” surged from paramilitary umbrella organization AUC between 2003 and 2006 when the group demobilized.
Members who refused to demobilize or later rejoined their old fighting companions former a number of groups that took over the AUC’s unattended businesses in narcotics trafficking and extortion.
While also combating leftist guerrilla groups, Colombian authorities failed to prevent the surge of the Urabeños, whose military force is thought to have exceeded that of the ELN, Colombia’s second largest rebel group.
Following violent turf wars with rival neo-paramilitaries and the Cali-based “Rastrojos” drug cartel, the Urabeños gained control over most drug trafficking hubs along the Caribbean and the Pacific.
How the Urabeños beat the Rastrojos to become Colombia’s #1 drug cartel
Because of its roots in the paramilitary AUC, that was frequently operating in conjunction with the Colombian military, the group has remained its elusiveness for authorities as it is able to coerce officials into cooperation and prevent locals from cooperating with the authorities.
Sources
EE.UU abre acusaciones formales en contra de 17 miembros del ‘Clan Úsuga’ (President’s Office)
Seventeen Alleged Leaders and Associates of Clan Usuga Indicted in Brooklyn and Miami (US Justice Department)