Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, also known as “Otoniel” 51, was also sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 45 years behind bars for engaging in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and 45 years imprisonment for engaging in a narcotics importation conspiracy.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Mr. Úsuga David was also ordered to pay $216 million in forfeiture although the amount is subject to an agreement between the U.S. government and the Columbian government.
He pleaded guilty to all three charges in January 2023.
“Otoniel led one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the world, where he directed the exportation of massive amounts of cocaine to the United States and ordered the ruthless execution of Colombian law enforcement, military officials, and civilians,” said Attorney General Garland in a press release. “This sentence sends a clear message: the Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are and no matter how long it takes.”
Violent Control, Drug Wars
The organization regularly smuggled multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and Central America that would then be imported into the United States, according to prosecutors.Additionally, Mr. Úsuga David “participated in conspiracies” to distribute narcotics via maritime vessels and also to “manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States,” prosecutors said.
Mr. Úsuga David was arrested in the jungles of Colombia in 2021 following an extensive operation by Colombian military and law enforcement personnel.
He was extradited last year to face drug trafficking charges in the United States.
According to prosecutors, the CDG has almost 6,000 members, is one of the most violent and powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, and is one of the largest distributors of cocaine in the world.
In order to maintain control over various areas, the organization employs military control, including the use of military-grade weapons, over vast amounts of territory in the Urabá region of Antioquia, Colombia, which has been a hub for drug trade and is 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.
‘More Prolific Than Pablo Escobar’
“The CDG funds its operations primarily through a multi-billion-dollar drug trafficking operation. 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,” prosecutors said. “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,” they added.During his time as leader of the organization, Mr. Úsuga David regularly employed hitmen to carry out acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings, torture, and assassinations against rivals or those deemed traitors to the organization, as well as their family members, prosecutors said.
He also directed organization members to use violence, intimidation, and murder to prevent law enforcement officials from carrying out their duties and to try and silence various witnesses, according to prosecutors.
Those killed or assaulted included Colombian law enforcement officers, Colombian military personnel, rival drug traffickers and paramilitaries, potential witnesses, and civilians.
During his sentencing on Aug, 8, Mr. Úsuga David was dubbed “more prolific than Pablo Escobar,” the former Medellin cartel leader who was killed in 1993 in a joint U.S.-Colombia operation, by Judge Irizarry.
He was also previously branded the “most dangerous drug trafficker in the world” by Colombian President Ivan Duque.
Still, Mr. Úsuga David apologized for his actions during his sentencing and called on the youth of Columbia not to follow in his steps.
“To the people and to the youth of Colombia, I advise them and warn them not to take the path that I have taken,” he said through a Spanish interpreter.