More than 500 people broke through the 8th floor of "vigilance protection" to round up, and Colombia's number one drug lord was arrested

Courtesy of Visual China

The Colombian government announced on the 23rd that its number one wanted drug lord, Dero Antonio Ursuga, was arrested. Announcing the news on the same day, Colombian President Ivan Duque said it was the biggest blow to Colombia's drug trafficking forces this century.

Ursuga, 50, nicknamed "Ottonier," is the head of the Gulf Family, Colombia's largest drug trafficking organization. According to Reuters, after receiving intelligence from the United States and the United Kingdom, Colombia launched Operation Pluto, dispatching more than 500 soldiers and 22 helicopters including members of the special forces to capture Ottonier in the jungle of the northwestern province of Antioquia. His hiding place is said to have 8 layers of "vigilance protection".

Colombian police said that because many of his men had been arrested, Ottonier had to hide in the jungle and could not use the phone. Ortoniere has been on the colombian and U.S. government's most wanted list for many years. The Colombian government offered a reward of 3 billion pesos (about 5 million yuan) for the arrest of Ottonier. The U.S. government offered him a $5 million reward in 2009. Duke said in a video speech broadcast on the 23rd that Otonier is facing charges such as drug trafficking to the United States, murdering police officers, recruiting minors for illegal activities, and sexually abusing minors. According to Agence France-Presse, procedures for the extradition of Ottonel to the United States have been initiated.

After the dissolution of the right-wing paramilitary group in 2006, Ottonier refused to lay down his arms and led the remnants of his forces to engage in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, which developed into the "Gulf Family" drug trafficking organization. According to Reuters, the drug cartel currently has more than 1,200 members and operates in nearly a third of Colombia's provinces. The Gulf Family, which was at its peak, was said to have more than 3,000 members and was also implicated in crimes such as extortion, illegal mining and murder.

Since 2016, the Colombian government has launched "Operation Agamemnon" to eliminate and arrest many of Ottonier's subordinates and track down his financial flows. Ortonier frequently changed his hiding place to escape capture. He released a video in 2017 saying he would turn himself in, but didn't do so. In March, Colombian police, in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Control Agency, arrested Ortoniere's sister, Nini Johanna Ursuga, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering, and extradited her to the United States.

Source Beijing Evening News According to Xinhua News Agency

Process Editor Yan Shengmiao