Colombian cartels today. government agencies broke up Caribbean networks used by Colombian cartels to smuggle Apr 12, 2022 · BOGOTA, April 12 (Reuters) - Mexican drug cartels appear to be shipping high-powered weapons to Colombia to purchase shipments of cocaine, a trade Colombian authorities say is fueling the deadly Aug 8, 2023 · We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Dec 10, 2021 · FILE - Former DEA agent Jose Irizarry arrives at the United States Courthouse Thursday, Nov. Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, was seized after a joint operation Aug 8, 2023 · NEW YORK (AP) — For years, the man known as Otoniel was seen as one of the world’s most dangerous drug lords, the elusive boss of a cartel and paramilitary group with a blood-drenched grip on much of northern Colombia. 23, 2021. intelligence. Carlos Lehder, a 70-year-old Colombian-German national Feb 22, 2024 · MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — The lush valley enveloping Medellin was once the heart of a brutal war involving the Colombian government, drug cartels and a smattering of other armed groups. Although an exact figure would be difficult to find, understanding how deep the ties go between cocaine and the current quality of life in Colombia is important. Mar 21, 2023 · Since the downfall of Colombia’s Medellín and Cali cartels in the mid-1990s, the dominance of Mexican cartels in the node of narcotics distribution has shifted power away from Colombian suppliers. Oct 24, 2021 · Colombia's most wanted drug trafficker and the leader of the country's largest criminal gang has been captured. Several of them, notably Pablo Escobar, were long considered among the world's most dangerous and most wanted men by U. Mar 20, 2023 · Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suspended a ceasefire with the country's main drug trafficking cartel, the Gulf Clan. With the collapse of the Cali and Medellin cartels, the cocaine business in Colombia began to disintegrate. Jan 12, 2023 · Nevertheless, according to Colombia’s Defense Ministry, more than 150 tons of cocaine is seized annually. The Medellín cartel in their peak was supplying an estimated 80-90% of the US cocaine market, turning over US$100 million in profits per day. Aug 11, 2009 · WASHINGTON – Diego Montoya Sanchez, 48, one of the leaders of the Norte Valle Colombian drug cartel and a former FBI Top Ten Fugitive, pleaded guilty today in Miami to drug trafficking, murder and racketeering charges, the Justice Department announced. The DEA and the Colombian National police believe there are more than 300 active drug smuggling organizations in Colombia today. This cartel is one of the few large and powerful enough to truly rival the Sinaloa Cartel. His death signaled the end of one era of drug trafficking and the birth of another, as the drug trade continued apace, with Medellin still at its heart. . -based corporation Texas Petroleum, the Colombian legislature, small industrialists, and wealthy cattle ranchers came together in a series of meetings in Puerto Boyacá and formed a paramilitary organization known as The capture in October of drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga was described by the Colombian government as "the most important blow to drug trafficking since the fall of Pablo Escobar". The exact origins of the Colombian Cartel in Liberty City aren't Mar 19, 2024 · The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. S. narcotics agent who used his badge to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars, parties on yachts and Tiffany jewels, was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison on Thursday, Dec. [7] The Medellín cartel differed to smaller cartels, as it was extremely organised and vastly influential within its varied socio-economic spheres, corrupting Colombia over a course of almost 20 years. Cali Cartel. 1 Either “openly avowed or tacit enterprises,” drug wars have been as much about expanding the drug trade as they have been about limiting it and, in most cases, they Jan 24, 2024 · Juarez Cartel. But a sharp dip in violence in the country’s second-biggest city has attracted a flood of tourists to its vivid colors, busy cafes and booming nightlife. Dario Antonio ‘Otoniel’ Úsuga is the leader of Colombia’s largest and most feared cartel, the Urabeños. Jun 1, 2022 · We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. 18, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. Over 30 years after the violence and devastation caused by Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel, Colombia is now dealing with another formidable transnational drug cartel once again wreaking havoc on the country. Irizarry, a once-standout U. Jan 5, 2023 · Former presidents Belisario Betancur and Cesar Gaviria both initiated negotiations with multiple insurgent groups, and the latter even negotiated with the Medellín drug cartel, private militias and the Coordinadora Nacional Guerrillera (CNG), a group that sought to unite Colombia’s guerrilla factions. Find out how the Colombian government, the US, and other countries have tried to combat the illegal drug trade and its consequences. Trafficking humans. Aug 8, 2023 · The leader of a prominent Colombian criminal group who pleaded guilty to U. “Today, Mexican cartels control everything from coca leaf to the sale of cocaine on a New York street corner. A ‘South American Tsunami' of cocaine has flooded Europe. To counteract the arrival of Mexican cartels, the Colombian government […] Oct 24, 2021 · Colombia’s most-wanted drug lord Otoniel has been captured by authorities in what has been heralded as the biggest blow to the country’s narcotics traffickers in decades. Extorting money. Drug barons of Colombia refer to some of the most notable drug lords which operate in illegal drug trafficking in Colombia. Jul 13, 2024 · Colombia, the global nexus of the cocaine industry, where Pablo Escobar became the world’s best-known criminal, and which still produces more of the drug than any other nation, is facing tectonic Apr 3, 2023 · According to Colombian authorities and human rights defenders, the AGC has cemented its control through forced displacement, extortion, killings of police officers and recruitment of minors. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. Mar 14, 2018 · Drug trafficking has long embedded itself in Colombia’s civil conflict, hiding among, and subverting, the warring factions. It is also an old criminal organization, based in: Drug trafficking. Since the British Empire waged the first modern drug war in the mid-19th century to force Chinese governments to accept imports of opium from India, the term “drug war” has been an ambiguous concept. Attorney Breon Peace said in a Sep 20, 2023 · Mazur's second memoir, "The Betrayal," is about his time inside the Cali cartel. working closely with the Colombian cartels. In a few cases, the Colombian groups have maintained direct routes to foreign markets. In 2016 the FARC, Colombia's largest armed revolutionary group, entered into peace negotiatio May 5, 2022 · Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, known by various aliases including “Otoniel,” was extradited this morning to the United States from Colombia to face charges in the Eastern District of New York of leading a continuing criminal enterprise and participating in an international cocaine manufacturing and distribution conspiracy for his role as the leader of the paramilitary, multibillion dollar Jan 26, 2023 · Notorious Colombian cocaine trafficker Dairo Antonio Úsuga, also known as Otoniel, has pleaded guilty to drugs charges in a US court. Many leaders of the Cali cartel were arrested in the 1990s, and by the next decade the organization had largely disbanded. Feb 22, 2024 · MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — The lush valley enveloping Medellin was once the heart of a brutal war involving the Colombian government, drug cartels and a smattering of other armed groups. Nov 22, 2022 · Members of Colombia's anti-narcotics police seize a cargo of molasses mixed with cocaine that was being sent to Valencia in Spain in Cartagena, Colombia on February 4, 2022. border into Southern California at 10:09 p. The Cali cartel went so far as to help Colombian police and the U. Kidnapping. 305-376-3446 Oct 13, 2023 · Chupeta began his career with the Cali Cartel during the 1980s, where he worked as a horse trainer for Iván Urdinola Grajales, then a mid-level trafficker in the cartel, according to a Colombian police intelligence report cited by El Tiempo. for trial. What’s different this time around Jan 15, 2023 · "Mexican cartels today control everything from (cultivation of) the coca leaf to the sale of cocaine on a New York street corner," then-senator, now-President Gustavo Petro said in August 2019 Dec 8, 2021 · The capture in October of drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga was described by the Colombian government as "the most important blow to drug trafficking since the fall of Pablo Escobar". At the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982, members of the Medellín Cartel, Cali Cartel, the Colombian military, the U. While other cartels in Colombia filled the void, their power failed to match that of their predecessors. The Medellín Cartel and other cartels came under pressure from the U. Aug 8, 2023 · Today, the group continues to control vast swaths of territory near the border with Panama and on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and has thousands of members, according to Colombian security forces. Learn about the history, production, and impact of drug trafficking in Colombia, from marijuana to cocaine. Otoniel was the leader of Colombia's most powerful criminal May 7, 2024 · Colombia's four main illegal armed groups grew during 2023 as they consolidated territorial control financed by drug trafficking and illicit gold extraction, according to a secret security report May 10, 2022 · The Gulf Clan drug cartel shut down dozens of towns in northern Colombia for four days in reaction to its leader being extradited to the U. It warned that anyone who disobeyed the Jun 13, 2024 · Two other Colombian cartel associates are being charged along with Fermin. Cocaine has played a huge role in Colombian economics and continues to today. Since 1974 limited progress has been made on those issues; however, the Colombian economy has grown despite Oct 25, 2021 · We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Jan 23, 2016 · Dario Antonio Úsuga, aka Otoniel — Los Urabeños (Colombia) Screenshot via state. In recent years, Mexican narcotraffickers have started to invest in the production of Colombian cocaine. Juarez is responsible for smuggling tons of narcotics into the United States since the 1980s. Aug 5, 2024 · At the international level, Mexican cartels began to take on a much larger role in the late 1980s, after U. Sep 13, 2022 · By Dr. Now as the civil conflict draws down, with just the ELN still in the field, drug trafficking is mutating once again. Otoniel led the Gulf Clan cartel and is wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges. gov. These strikes – which have caused Jan 26, 2023 · “With today’s guilty plea, the bloody reign of the most violent and significant Colombian narcotics trafficker since Pablo Escobar is over,” Brooklyn U. Jan 20, 2021 · Today, Colombian drug cartels export 90 percent of the cocaine that enters the United States—around 1,040 metric tons of high-quality cocaine derived from coca leaves grown by more than 250 thousand peasant families on nearly 200 thousand hectares of land, nestled in the depths of our mountain ranges. The cartels responded by bribing or murdering numerous public officials, politicians and others. drug trafficking charges was sentenced on Tuesday to 45 years in prison by a judge in Brooklyn who called him "more May 12, 2022 · Colombian firefighters stand by a burnt vehicle, after the Gulf Clan ordered a four-day 'strike' in retaliation for their former leader's extradition to the US, in Bolivar, Colombia, May 5, 2022 Jun 1, 2022 · MIAMI — Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, an elderly leader of the former Cali cartel that smuggled vast amounts of cocaine from Colombia to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has died in a U May 8, 2022 · We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) track down Escobar. 1 day ago · Colombia - Drug Trafficking, Guerrilla Warfare, Conflict: The process of change brought with it new political, economic, and social problems, which stemmed from uneven development, unequal gains, and a growing perception that the benefits of higher income were not widely shared. Feb 10, 2024 · On the evening of March 17, 2020, a former Mexican police officer working for the Sinaloa cartel left his hotel room in Tijuana and walked across the U. Only the Jan 3, 2024 · Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has been looking to cement a “total peace” plan in the South American country by negotiating peace agreements with all of its armed groups, including leftists guerrillas and trafficking organizations. He accused it of "sowing anxiety and terror" and ordered the security Apr 24, 2023 · Twenty years ago, on December 2, 1993, Pablo Escobar, the pioneer of Colombia's cocaine trade, was killed on a rooftop in his native Medellin by police. Moving drugs between provinces. 00:19 For years, the man known as Otoniel was seen as one of the world's most dangerous drug lords, the elusive boss of a Oct 24, 2021 · In this photo released by the Colombian presidential press office, one of the country’s most wanted drug traffickers, Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias “Otoniel,” leader of the violent Clan del Golfo cartel, is presented to the media at a military base in Necocli, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. Furthermore, Otoniel’s downfall is unlikely to have a positive effect on Colombia’s drug Jun 17, 2020 · The man who set up the notorious Medellín drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has arrived in Germany after his release from a US prison. (Colombian presidential press office via AP) May 10, 2022 · Medellín (Colombia) (AFP) – Three decades after cartel boss Pablo Escobar was shot dead by police on a rooftop in Medellin, the very city he had sought to uplift with drug money is being An Ambiguous Term. Jarrod Sadulski (Faculty Member, Criminal Justice) and Efren Munoz (Major, Criminal Investigation Directorate and INTERPOL, National Police of Colombia). The Future of Colombian Cartels. Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, Aug 8, 2023 · Colombia to extradite "country's most dangerous drug lord" to the U. Jay Weaver Miami Herald. This time Colombia’s drug lords realize that their best protection is not a private army, but anonymity. Sep 12, 2023 · It was an enlightening evening; the Sicilian mafia is still around, my neighbour explained, but the real power today is in southern Italy. At the center of it is the fearsome Albanian mafia and their deadly alliance with Colombia's bigges May 12, 2021 · Following the fall of the Medellín drug cartel and the death of its leader Pablo Escobar Gaviria in 1993, Mexican cartels began to control cocaine smuggling and distribution in Colombia. Cocaine is shipped to every industrialized nation in the world and Dec 6, 2021 · In late October 2021, the Colombian military captured Dairo Antonio “Otoniel” Usuga, the head of the Gulf Clan and one of Colombia’s most wanted drug kingpins. Otoniel was Colombia's most wanted man and the government had offered a $800,000 (£582,000) reward for The Colombian Cartel (aka the "Cartel" in Grand Theft Auto Advance and the Colombians in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories) is a powerful Latin American drug syndicate and street gang in Liberty City, the main group of antagonists in Grand Theft Auto III, and the minor antagonists in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. In Colombia's Cauca Valley, the drug war is flaring once again. Today, Mazur speaks and consults on the issues of money laundering, drug trafficking, and corruption around the Colombia's most wanted drug trafficker and the leader of the country's largest criminal gang has been captured. This story was originally published June 13, 2024, 11:07 AM. government and from critical sectors of Colombian society who supported the extradition of suspected Colombian cartel members to the U. The export of cocaine is supervised by transnational crime organizations that do business with foreign crime organizations, particularly Mexican cartels. Oct 23, 2021 · Colombian military forces captured the leader of a major drug cartel, considered by the government to be the most wanted man in the country, President Iván Duque announced on Saturday. Although Colombian president Duque compared Otoniel’s capture to Pablo Escobar’s killing, the two men were dissimilar in most ways. May 5, 2022 · A man accused of leading a Colombian cartel was extradited to face federal drug-trafficking charges in Brooklyn, ending a yearslong effort to hobble an organization that a federal prosecutor said The arrest of Montoya and the murder of Varela closed a small chapter in Colombia’s cocaine war; however, officials believe remaining cartel members may fight for leadership of the organization. m. 9, 2021, for conspiring to launder money with a Oct 4, 2022 · Killing powerful drug traffickers, such as Pablo Escobar, and the demise of large cartels such as the Norte del Valle cartel, have not ended – or even affected – cocaine trafficking; in fact, the market has grown both in terms of routes and in the number of criminal groups that manage the business. venprezryvtcooqmuxvbylfenbsqxahjanhvmxmmvqta