Special Forces of the Colombian National Army’s Aviation Air Assault Division captured an alleged narco-trafficker and Clan Úsuga leader near the country’s border with Panama.
Special Forces of the Colombian National Army’s Aviation Air Assault Division have captured an alleged narcotrafficker and Clan Úsuga leader in the Urabá region, near the country’s border with Panama.
The suspect, accused of supplying cocaine and other narcotics to the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas — two Mexican transnational criminal organizations — allegedly coordinated the speedboats that transported those drugs to Panama. There, the cartels would take possession of the shipments and transport them throughout Central America, the United States, and Belgium, which serves as a gateway for illicit goods into Europe.
He’s also suspected of working with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) Sixth Front. The FARC, which is the country’s largest guerrilla group, uses narcotrafficking proceeds to fund its terrorist activities.
The arrest comes after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recently deployed 1,200 Military Troops and National Police Officers to the Department of Antioquia to capture Clan Úsuga members. That operation – called Operation “Toma Masiva del Urabá” (Massive Taking of Urabá) — is utilizing the Neptuno Task Force, which combines 12 existing task forces and is made up of members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and National Police. Rear Admiral Ricardo Hurtado Chacón heads Neptuno Task Force, while Major General Ricardo Alberto Restrepo Londoño, the head of the Colombian National Police’s Counter-narcotics Division, will lead the overall operation.
The suspect expected to be extradited to the U.S., where he’s wanted on federal drug-trafficking charges in the state of Texas.
Dominican security forces seize 600 packages of cocaine
The Dominican Republic’s National Navy and National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) teamed up to seize 600 packages of cocaine from a boat seven nautical miles southeast of Punta Palenque on March 20; they also captured three suspects, who are Dominican nationals.
The DNCD, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), learned of the suspicious vessel after it was spotted by radar; then, the Navy interdicted the boat off the coast of the Province of San Cristóbal.
There, they found cocaine packed in 30 bales and stored in the bottom of a small fiberglass boat. Security forces took it to the National Forensic Science Institute (INACIF) to be weighed, while the suspects were detained at DNCD’s headquarters. Meanwhile, the DNCD is investigating which narcotrafficking or organized crime group owned the cocaine, which originated in South America and was destined for the United States and Europe.
Special Forces of the Colombian National Army’s Aviation Air Assault Division have captured an alleged narcotrafficker and Clan Úsuga leader in the Urabá region, near the country’s border with Panama.
The suspect, accused of supplying cocaine and other narcotics to the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas — two Mexican transnational criminal organizations — allegedly coordinated the speedboats that transported those drugs to Panama. There, the cartels would take possession of the shipments and transport them throughout Central America, the United States, and Belgium, which serves as a gateway for illicit goods into Europe.
He’s also suspected of working with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) Sixth Front. The FARC, which is the country’s largest guerrilla group, uses narcotrafficking proceeds to fund its terrorist activities.
The arrest comes after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recently deployed 1,200 Military Troops and National Police Officers to the Department of Antioquia to capture Clan Úsuga members. That operation – called Operation “Toma Masiva del Urabá” (Massive Taking of Urabá) — is utilizing the Neptuno Task Force, which combines 12 existing task forces and is made up of members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and National Police. Rear Admiral Ricardo Hurtado Chacón heads Neptuno Task Force, while Major General Ricardo Alberto Restrepo Londoño, the head of the Colombian National Police’s Counter-narcotics Division, will lead the overall operation.
The suspect expected to be extradited to the U.S., where he’s wanted on federal drug-trafficking charges in the state of Texas.
Dominican security forces seize 600 packages of cocaine
The Dominican Republic’s National Navy and National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) teamed up to seize 600 packages of cocaine from a boat seven nautical miles southeast of Punta Palenque on March 20; they also captured three suspects, who are Dominican nationals.
The DNCD, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), learned of the suspicious vessel after it was spotted by radar; then, the Navy interdicted the boat off the coast of the Province of San Cristóbal.
There, they found cocaine packed in 30 bales and stored in the bottom of a small fiberglass boat. Security forces took it to the National Forensic Science Institute (INACIF) to be weighed, while the suspects were detained at DNCD’s headquarters. Meanwhile, the DNCD is investigating which narcotrafficking or organized crime group owned the cocaine, which originated in South America and was destined for the United States and Europe.