Colombia has handed over the world’s wanted drug dealers to the United States. Otoniel has been dubbed the modern Pablo Escobar and has been on run for seven years. When the police captured him in October 2021, the U.S made a plea to hand him over to the country after the Colombian Supreme Court approved his extradition.
The Story So Far
Otoniel has been functioning as the leader of the Gulf Clan cartel which traffics 180 to 200 tonnes of cocaine a year. The exports are mostly routed across Colombia to U.S. and all across Russia. He has also been charged with murdering civil society leaders and policemen.
The Chase
The Colombian government has placed a reward of. $800,000 about his whereabouts while the U.S. government placed $5m on his head. Both the countries have extensively made searches to nab him, for years. He has been finally captured by Columbian police at his rural hideout in Antioquia province, in an operation that involved 22 helicopters and 500 soldiers.
BREAKING/#ÚLTIMAHORA The process of extradition of alias #OTONIEL, drug lord in #Colombia, begins. At this moment, a caravan of armored vehicles is advancing along Bogotá's 26th street towards #ElDorado Airport, where it will be handed over to the DEA. pic.twitter.com/y6Olja5tHw https://t.co/IDaLmbx5ry
— A Deniz E Ekşioğlu (@cover_up8d) May 4, 2022
After his arrest, police have caught around 1800 armed men who are suspected to be his aids who are actively involved in drug and people trafficking, gold mining, and illegal extortion.
The Future
The drug baron’s fate now waits to be sealed by the court of America where he is yet to be produced. His fall is similar to that of Escobar’s and the police were optimistic about controlling and eradicating more trafficking in the future. Since his rise, Columbia has suffered the menace of drugs.