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Bogota, Colombia (CNN)Colombia's most-wanted cause lord has been captured by authorities successful what has been heralded arsenic the biggest stroke to the country's narcotics traffickers successful decades.
Colombia's President Iván Duque Márquez confirmed the seizure of Dairo Antonio Usuga, known arsenic "Otoniel," successful a televised nationalist code Saturday.
"This coup is lone comparable to the autumn of Pablo Escobar successful the 90s," Duque said, referring to the Colombian cause lord who died successful 1993 aft gathering a multibillion-dollar empire dealing cocaine.
"Otoniel was the astir feared cause trafficker successful the world, a murderer of policemen, soldiers, societal leaders, and a recruiter of minors," helium said.
Otoniel, 50, was seized by Colombian authorities during an cognition successful a agrarian country of Colombia's Uraba region, located successful Antioquia province, Reuters reported. One constabulary serviceman died during the operation, according to the report.
Otoniel was the person of the 'Clan del Golfo' cause cartel, which the US State Department describes arsenic "heavily equipped and highly violent." He became the person pursuing stints arsenic a left-wing guerrilla and a paramilitary, according to Reuters.
The cartel is comprised of erstwhile members of violent organizations, according to the State Department, and uses unit and intimidation to power narcotics trafficking routes, cocaine processing laboratories, speedboat departure points and clandestine landing strips.
Otoniel was indicted by the Southern District of New York successful 2009. The State Department offered up to $5 cardinal for accusation starring to his apprehension oregon conviction, portion Colombia offered a reward of up to 3 cardinal Colombian pesos (about $800,000) for accusation connected his whereabouts, Reuters reported.
Duque ended his televised code Saturday with a connection for different cause traffickers, saying: "To each criminals and narco traffickers: either you surrender, oregon we volition travel and get you."
Additional reporting from Reuters.
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