HomeColombiaJuan de Dios Úsuga, alias 'Giovanni'
COLOMBIA

Juan de Dios Úsuga, alias 'Giovanni'

COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES / LATEST UPDATE 2017-03-09 23:54:35 EN

Juan de Dios Úsuga, alias "Giovanni," headed the Urabeños' military wing while the group was under the command of Daniel Rendón Herrera, alias "Don Mario." After Rendón’s arrest, Úsuga and his brother Dario Antonio took command of an estimated 250 loyal combatants. They began expanding their recruitment and drug trafficking operations in the Urabá region near the Panamanian border, where the Úsugas are originally from. Juan de Dios was killed by security forces on January 1, 2012.

History

Alongside his brother, Dario Antonio Úsuga, alias "Otoniel," Juan de Dios was a member of the Popular Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberación - EPL) before the guerrilla group demobilized in 1991. Juan de Dios later joined the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC), and worked for drug trafficker Daniel Rendón Herrera, alias "Don Mario," as part of the paramilitary's Centauros Bloc.

Giovanni Factbox

DOB: Unknown

Group:  Urabeños

Criminal Activities: Drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping

Status: Killed

Area of Operation: Uraba region (northwest Colombia)

Juan de Dios demoblized once again in 2005 as a member of the AUC, but quickly joined the Urabeños under the leadership of Don Mario. Following the arrest of Don Mario in 2009, the Úsuga brothers became the leaders of the criminal organization based in Colombia's northwest region of Urabá.

With Úsuga in charge, the Urabeños escalated a violent turf battle with the Paisas and the Rastrojos in southern Cordoba and in the Lower Cauca region, northern Antioquia. In 2009, the towns of Caucasia and Tarazá saw soaring murder rates, as Úsuga tried to take control of these drug distribution centers, both located on a major highway connecting Medellín to the Caribbean coast. The amount of land used for coca cultivation in Córdoba also doubled between 2008 and 2009, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Colombian anti-narcotics police have said this may be related to the expanded Urabeños presence.

Criminal Activities

According to police, Úsuga ran the Urabeños operations in northern Colombia, and oversaw drug routes and distribution points, as well as illicit crops in the region. Authorities have offered 500 million Colombian pesos ($278,000) in return for information leading to the capture of him or his brother. In March 2010, the US Treasury Department added Úsuga to its drug "Kingpin List."

Geography

Úsuga operated in the Urabeños stronghold of Urabá in northwest Colombia. Úsuga was very security conscious, and reportedly only moved between a small area of land in northern Antioquia that was firmly under the control of his criminal organization.

Allies and Enemies

Úsuga reportedly had contact with all the major drug traffickers in northern Colombia. The Urabeños worked closely with Henry de Jesus López Londoño, alias "Mi Sangre," who joined the criminal organization in 2009 and expanded the group's presence into the city of Medellín. At the time of his death, the Urabeños were battling rival criminal group the Rastrojos.

Prospects

Úsuga was taken down in a raid by security forces on his ranch in Choco province, near the border with Panama, in the early hours of January 1, 2012. Following his death, the Urabeños declared an “armed strike” and offered a reward of roughly $1,000 for every police officer killed in Antioquia.

Úsuga's brother, Otoniel, has become the top leader of the Urabeños as well as Colombia's most wanted criminal.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 1 NOV 2021

Long-time leader, Otoniel, President Iván Duque said the gang's "days were numbered." But is that accurate?…

COLOMBIA / 16 AUG 2022

The ELN and Urabeños are once again battling for control of Bolívar, a northern department of Colombia.

COCAINE / 17 AUG 2021

A cell within a notorious Montenegrin cocaine trafficking group has been dismantled on Spain’s Canary Islands, demonstrating how Balkan drug…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…