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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12185376" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="colombia" source="Orion">Colombia</keyword>'s president compared the recent capture of the kingpin known as <keyword id="12520711" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="otoniel" source="Orion">Otoniel</keyword> to that of <keyword id="12323292" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pablo-escobar" source="Orion">Pablo Escobar</keyword>.</li><li>Escobar's death was a blow to his cartel, but many smuggling groups have emerged to replace him.</li></ul>Mexico City - The same day Colombia's armed forces <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-armed-forces-capture-top-drug-trafficker-otoniel-sources-2021-10-23/">captured</a> Dario Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, Colombian President Ivan Duque said the arrest was "only comparable to the fall of Pablo Escobar."Otoniel's capture is a major blow to a powerful drug-trafficking group, but many feel it is not something to brag about and fear that, as after other major arrests, the country could plunge into something worse.Otoniel, first a member of the guerrilla organization Ejercito Popular de Liberación and later a prominent paramilitary leader, rose to be the most wanted cartel boss in Colombia, with the US offering a <a href="https://www.state.gov/narcotics-rewards-program-target-information-wanted/dario-antonio-usuga-david/">$5 million</a> reward for him.Otoniel led <a href="https://www.insider.com/r-colombias-gulf-clan-crime-gang-declares-holiday-ceasefire-2018-12">Clan del Golfo</a>, also called Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), considered by Colombian authorities to be a "<a href="https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4978/497864669008/html/">Class A Organized Armed Group</a>."US authorities say the group is the main Colombian ally of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa Cartel, partnering with it to profit from drug-trafficking and human-smuggling rings worth millions of dollars.He now faces charges related to <keyword id="12306054" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drug-trafficking" source="Orion">drug trafficking</keyword>, the killing of police officers, recruitment of minors, and sexually abusing children, <a href="https://www.state.gov/narcotics-rewards-program-target-information-wanted/dario-antonio-usuga-david/">according</a> to US and Colombian authorities.<h2>Who's next</h2><div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine drug bust seizure" height="1285" width="2000" msid="87670018" hostid="261"></div>The vast quantities of cocaine that Otoniel smuggled drew comparisons to Escobar and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cartels-took-medellin-cartel-place-after-pablo-escobars-death-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the infamous Medellin Cartel</a>, but many Colombians saw Duque's pronouncement as a media stunt, as Escobar's involvement in terrorism and national politics sets him apart."It was a political stunt to get some press attention and legitimize [his] administration," Carlos Bohorquez, a Medellin resident, said of Duque."To me, having lived through the Escobar years, Otoniel has nothing to do [with it]. But it doesn't mean it was not a good thing that he was arrested and put behind bars," Bohorquez said.The <a href="https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/internacional/alias-otoniel-fue-capturado-en-colombia-con-un-operativo-de-500-uniformados-y-22-helicopteros-nota/">operation</a> that led to the arrest - which involved 500 Colombian special-forces personnel and 22 helicopters and in which one police officer died - received major attention from Colombian politicians and diplomats."Congratulations! To our Police and to our Military Force. Many years of persecution of this individual who has done so much damage to the country," Juan Carlos Pinzón, Colombia's ambassador to the US, <a href="https://twitter.com/pinzonbueno/status/1452051611895877641?s=21">wrote</a> on Twitter.<div type="image" title="Los Urabenos Colombia drug gang cartels Medellin" height="3264" width="4912" msid="87670019" hostid="261"></div>While many in Colombia celebrated Otoniel's arrest, others now expect rough times."The market has diversified immediately after Otoniel's arrest. His detention has thrown away a monopoly, opening the doors to new players," said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a Colombia-based security and risk-analysis firm.Guzmán said this has happened in the past, first with former <keyword id="12520713" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medellin-cartel" source="Orion">Medellin cartel</keyword> boss <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carlos-lehder-medellin-cartel-drug-smuggler-released-after-33-years-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carlos Lehder</a> and later with Pablo Escobar.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-killed-notorious-colombian-drug-kingpin-pablo-escobar-2016-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Escobar's death</a> and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cali-cartel-learned-from-escobar-according-to-dea-agent-javier-pena-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapse of the rival Cali Cartel</a> allowed paramilitary groups to expand into drug trafficking while also conducting robberies, extortion, and kidnapping. Those groups were followed by "bandas criminales," which are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colombia-criminal-cartel-world-changes-after-pablo-escobar-was-killed-2017-2">generally more dispersed and compartmentalized</a> - making them harder to root out and more resilient.The AGC was the most powerful of those latter groups, and Otoniel was a demonstration of their resilience. Pinzon <a href="https://twitter.com/PinzonBueno/status/1452051611895877641?s=20">noted</a> that Otoniel took over when his brother was killed in 2012."What is worrisome after the arrest of Otoniel is not if he was bigger than Pablo Escobar or not. [It] is who is next," Guzmán said.<h2>'Progressive fragmentation'</h2><div type="image" title="Dairo Antonio Usuga, drug lord who has been captured by Colombian military." height="4121" width="5334" msid="87670021" hostid="261"></div>Otoniel's arrest and the power vacuum it creates could lead to more violence as criminal groups fracture and compete, according to Colombian government officials. Such <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-war-on-cartels-failure-violence-defense-intelligence-agency-chief-2018-2">fragmentation is visible in Mexico</a>, where a decade of targeting top kingpins has caused major cartels <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fragmentation-in-mexico-war-on-drugs-created-400-new-gangs-2021-10">to fracture into hundreds of gangs</a>.Currently there are about 10 major criminal organizations operating in Colombia, <a href="https://colombiareports.com/agc-gulf-clan/">according</a> to Indepaz, a nongovernmental group that promotes peace and justice."A progressive fragmentation of the criminal organization is expected, since Otoniel … was the only leader with total command and control," Gen. Fernando Murillo, who leads Colombia's judicial police, part of the National Police force, said in an <a href="https://www.elnuevosiglo.com.co/articulos/11-01-2021-se-proyecta-una-atomizacion-del-clan-del-golfo-general-fernando-vallejo">interview</a> with local media.Differences that "transcend" internal disputes could arise among AGC members seeking control, Murillo added, predicting the group's "atomization" into smaller, less capable factions.<div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine submarine" height="2336" width="3500" msid="87670022" hostid="261"></div>Murillo listed Wilmer "Siopas" Giraldo Quiroz; Jobanis de Jesus Avila, aka "Chiquito Malo"; Jose "Gonzalito" Sanchez; and Orozman Osten Blanco, aka "Rodrigo Flechas" as Otoniel's potential successors."Siopas" is considered AGC's second-in-command and is wanted for his involvement in organized crime. "Chiquito Malo" is in charge of production and shipment of AGC's tons of cocaine to the US. Colombian authorities have a bounty of $133,000 for his capture."Gonzalito" is considered "a brother" to Otoniel, according to <a href="https://www.larazon.es/internacional/20211026/vu5knaftjfbu5ooe7t3xucfroe.html">media reports</a> and a prominent member of the AGC. "Rodrigo Flechas" is one of the most violent criminals in Colombia, responsible for killings and kidnapping in the Cordoba municipality.The AGC's main business is cocaine - cocaine production in Colombia rose 8% between 2019 and 2020, <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Colombia/Colombia_Monitoreo_de_territorios_afectados_por_cultivos_ilicitos_2020.pdf">according</a> to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime - and its main blocs <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/otoniel-arrest-really-mean-for-colombia/">still control</a> some of Colombia's most important cocaine-producing regions.But the group has found other lucrative enterprises.<div type="image" title="Haiti migrants in Necocli Colombia" height="1313" width="2000" msid="87670023" hostid="261"></div>Before his arrest, Otoniel was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colombian-cartel-profiting-off-of-migrants-going-through-deadly-jungle-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">making millions from smuggling US-bound migrants</a> through Colombia. His smuggling ring out of Necoclí in northern Colombia transported migrants toward the border with Panama, demanding payment for all sorts of things along the way.An AGC operative said after Otoniel's arrest that his capture hadn't affected business, telling Insider that "the organization has continued working under a new administration."Colombian officials have said they're working on extraditing Otoniel to the US and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/arrest-colombian-crime-lord-unlikely-turn-tide-drug-war-2021-10-25/">made clear</a> they will keep going after whoever replaces him."We will continue to combat the Clan del Golfo and will not rest until this organization is finished. We're going for Siopas, for Gonzalito, for Chiquito Malo," Murillo said.

Colombia's president says the latest kingpin to be captured is as big as Escobar. That may not be a good sign.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In late October, <keyword id="12185376" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="colombia" source="Orion">Colombia</keyword> captured a powerful kingpin known as "Otoniel," head of Clan del Golfo.</li><li>Clan del Golfo has been smuggling <keyword id="12127762" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="migrants" source="Orion">migrants</keyword> to Colombia's border with Panama, where they continue to the US.</li></ul>Necoclí, Colombia - The biggest criminal organization in Colombia, <a href="https://www.insider.com/r-colombias-gulf-clan-crime-gang-declares-holiday-ceasefire-2018-12">Clan del Golfo</a>, also called Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), is making millions of dollars off of desperate migrants trying to make their way to the US.Although AGC's main source of revenue is cocaine trafficking, it recently gained control of the migrant routes between Colombia's borders with Ecuador in the south and Panama in the north, <a href="https://colombiareports.com/agc-gulf-clan/">according</a> to a report from Indepaz, a Colombian nongovernmental organization that promotes peace and justice.As thousands of migrants from the region and from as far away as Africa and the Middle East pass through Colombia in their attempts to reach the US, the AGC have found another criminal gold mine.AGC is considered by Colombian authorities as a "<a href="https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4978/497864669008/html/">Class A Organized Armed Group</a>," and US authorities claim it is the main Colombian ally of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa Cartel, partnering with it to profit from drug-trafficking and human-smuggling rings worth millions of dollars.<div type="image" title="Dairo Antonio Usuga with military personelle who captured him." height="3015" width="6031" msid="87446363" hostid="261"></div>Colombian authorities recently <a href="https://www.insider.com/colombia-drug-lord-arrested-in-biggest-blow-since-fall-escobar-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> the leader of the AGC, Dario Antonio Úsuga, known as Otoniel, whose capture was "<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59026214">only comparable</a>" to that of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s, Colombia's president said.Otoniel was running a smuggling ring from Necoclí, a beach town in northern Colombia where migrants start their trek to the US by heading into the Darien Gap, <a href="https://nacla.org/perilous-journey-along-darien-gap">66 miles of perilous jungle</a> between Colombia and Panama.That smuggling ring relies on hundreds of foot soldiers, fishermen, business owners and complicit Colombian authorities, and it profits not only from smuggling migrants but also from providing them housing, transportation, security, and even water to drink.Colombian and Panamanian authorities reopened their borders this year after more than a year closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. They <a href="https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20210811-colombia-panama-migracion-irregular-darien">agreed</a> to let 650 migrants go from Colombia to Panama each day in an effort to relieve the tumultuous bottleneck in Necoclí.In order to help migrants get to Panama, Colombian authorities authorized a private marine-transportation company to sell 650 tickets to Haitians only, allowing them to cross the Urabá Gulf to Acandí, from where they could head to Panama.<div type="image" title="Haiti migrants in Acandi Colombia" height="1333" width="2000" msid="87446364" hostid="261"></div>But Insider witnessed ferries stop in the middle of the sea to knowingly hand the migrants to several small fishing boats owned and operated by AGC smugglers.Once the migrants reached the other side, hundreds of men, all either members of or hired by AGC, approached the migrants to take them on a two-hour bike ride to the base camp in Las Tecas, at a cost of about $50 to $80 each."There is no one going to the US and through Colombia that we don't know of. We have full control of the migrants here," said Breiner, an AGC operative in Las Tecas, an enclosed base camp where thousands of migrants wait their turn to enter the deadly jungle of the Darien Gap.Breiner, using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation, told Insider that each migrant pays the cartel about $1,500 to cover transportation from Necoclí to Las Tecas, access to Wi-Fi, and "guides" who take the migrants through the jungle into Panama."In early September we would have around 3,000 migrants arriving at this camp, and every single one of them had to pay, with no option" not to, he said.<div type="image" title="Migrants in Colombia" height="1294" width="2000" msid="87446366" hostid="261"></div>According to Colombian authorities, by late September, around <a href="https://www.rtvcnoticias.com/20-mil-migrantes-represados-necocli">20,000 migrants</a> were stuck in Necoclí waiting to get through the jungle into Panama. That would mean roughly $30 million in revenue to the AGC."Here they have everything - food, water, internet, cellphones, even machetes and boots to go through the Darien," Breiner said.But Leonel, a Haitian traveling with his wife and young daughter, said it is almost impossible to keep paying for everything."We don't bring much money. We don't have money, so we are asking and asking our family in the US to keep sending more money, and we also borrow from friends who are also migrating, but it is impossible to keep paying," he said.The huge migrant population in Necoclí has attracted vendors from all over the country to sell from boots, food, or water, as well as illegal boat trips across the Urabá Gulf in the middle of the night. But they all pay their share to the AGC."Everything is extremely expensive. Just to sleep in a little tent we have to pay almost 30 dollars each day," Leonel said.<div type="image" title="Haiti migrants in Necocli Colombia" height="1320" width="2000" msid="87446367" hostid="261"></div>The AGC operative said most of the street vendors and the people working for the organization are over charging for everything, in part due to the high demand but also "because they have to share."It is unclear how much each vendor has to pay the AGC to allow them to sell to the migrants, but the operative said it was a "small percentage" of each sale."It's not bad if you really think about it. It is to keep the town safe and at peace. Do you see any violence? No one could steal even a glass of water because we are watching," he said.After Otoniel's arrest, Colombian authorities hope to dismantle his smuggling ring in Necoclí, but the organization has continued "working under a new administration," the AGC operative said.

Colombia's most powerful cartel is making millions 'helping' desperate migrants get through a deadly South American jungle

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Colombia's president says the latest kingpin to be captured is as big as Escobar. That may not be a good sign.

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Colombia's most powerful cartel is making millions 'helping' desperate migrants get through a deadly South American jungle

Luis Chaparro

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