Capo ‘Otoniel’ was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the USA.

Colombian Dairo Antonio Úsuga Davidalias “Otoniel” and considered one of the most dangerous and wanted bosses in the world, was sentenced this Tuesday in New York to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking, being found guilty of bringing several tons of drugs into the United States.

Federal Judge Dora Irizarry handed down the sentence that the prosecution requested from the judge despite the fact that the 51-year-old leader of the violent Clan del Golfo pleaded guilty in January last year to seek prison benefits, initially reversing his testimony, when he was extradited from Colombia in May 2022.

Irizarry, who said it was the most difficult case (by amounts of drugs) that he had to deal with in his career, he justified his punishment by arguing that the violence caused by the Clan del Golfo had a huge impact on the United States, leaving many dead and much violence “also among children and young people .”

Otoniel, wearing a prisoner’s khaki suit and not removing the headphones with which he continued the discussion, apologized in his last intervention to the Government of the United States, that of Colombia, the victims of drug trafficking and their families. “for all” he did.

He claimed to justify his existence “I grew up in an environment of drug trafficking and violence”but Irizarry said that’s no excuse because she, who is of Puerto Rican descent, grew up in the Bronx in a violent environment and “a lot of productive people” left her neighborhood.

“You can’t cover the sun with one finger,” she said in Spanish so Otoniel could understand her.

Otoniel used his last words to launch political messages, such as asking the United States government to support the peace process opened in Colombia with various guerilla groups that are somehow linked to the cocaine trade.

Otoniel’s lawyers tried to seek a 25-year sentence for him, arguing that other drug traffickers tried in the United States without agreeing to cooperate with Justice had received lighter sentences.

But the judge cut short those arguments in response cases had nothing to do with it given the seriousness of the facts adjudicated in the Otoniel case.

Finally, attorneys from Otoniel’s team requested that, after sentencing, the judge ease the terms of his detention — insisting that he only be able to see his legal team for a few months — an issue Irizarry will address during part two.