Colombia’s priority to extradite drug lord Otoniel to US

Colombia’s priority is to extradite the captured drug lord Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, to the United States, government and security sources said on Sunday.

Otoniel, 50, was caught by Colombia’s armed forces during an operation in a rural area of Colombia’s Uraba region, Antioquia province, officials said on Saturday. 

Otoniel faces extradition orders from the United States. Colombia will work with authorities to make sure the extradition takes place, President Ivan Duque said on Saturday.

Getting the drug trafficker, who faces dozens of arrest warrants, to the United States is Colombia’s priority following his capture, a government source and two security sources told Reuters.

Colombia had offered a reward of up to 3 billion pesos (about $800,000) for information concerning Otoniel’s whereabouts, while the U.S. government had put up a reward of $5 million for help locating him.

Otoniel rose to become the leader of the drug trafficking group the Clan del Golfo or Gulf Clan, following stints as a left-wing guerrilla and later as a paramilitary.

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