All About Otoniel

ANALYSIS

Urabeños Leadership Under Mounting Pressure in Colombia

COLOMBIA / 30 AUG 2019

Authorities in Colombia continue to home in on the Urabeños crime group, arresting the brother of boss Dairo Antonio Úsuga.

Caparrapos Thriving in Colombia Due to Alliances With ELN, Ex-FARC Mafia

COLOMBIA / 30 JAN 2019

Having become one of the more visible criminal actors in Colombia due to their war with the Urabeños, the Caparrapos have been heavily targeted by authorities in 2019 so far.

The Steady Downfall of Colombia’s Most Powerful Drug Organization

COLOMBIA / 5 OCT 2018

Rocked by government assaults, internal dissent and a leader publicly looking to abandon ship, the Urabeños are facing a dire outlook, one that promises a violent reshuffling within Colombia’s criminal…

Colombia Law Letting Crime Groups Surrender May Be Too Little Too Late

COLOMBIA / 22 JUN 2018

A new law in Colombia allowing for the collective surrender of criminal groups may have little success, since the country’s fragmented underworld doesn’t incentivize crime bosses to rally their people…

Report Details Potential Surrender Agreement With Urabeños in Colombia

COLOMBIA / 20 OCT 2017

A new document has surfaced detailing the potential surrender terms for Colombia's most powerful criminal group, in what is the first glimpse of what such a deal may look…

After Death of Number Two, Colombia’s Urabeños Offer to Surrender

COLOMBIA / 7 SEP 2017

The most wanted drug trafficker in Colombia and leader of the powerful Urabeños has offered to surrender himself and his organization to authorities just days after his number two was…

Colombia’s Largest-Ever Manhunt Hasn’t Caught Its Top Target. Here’s Why.

COLOMBIA / 21 JUN 2017

Colombia's dense jungle on the Caribbean coast is the heartland of the Urabeños, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the Americas. This is where its top leaders are…

Colombia’s Urabeños May Be Divided but Not Conquered

COLOMBIA / 16 MAR 2017

Information has surfaced on apparent frictions at the heart at one of the Western Hemisphere's most powerful drug trafficking organizations. But while its leaders may be divided, this group continues…

Colombia Redoubles Efforts Against BACRIM

COLOMBIA / 13 APR 2016

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos announced his administration will further increase pressure against the country's neo-paramilitary organizations known as BACRIM, a sign of the growing importance of these groups in…

Drug Clashes Spark Humanitarian Crisis: Colombia Ombudsman

COLOMBIA / 23 OCT 2015

Colombia's Ombudsman's office says a struggle between guerrillas and neo-paramilitaries over drug routes through the Pacific department of Choco has caused a humanitarian crisis. These developments were likely…

The Secrets of Colombia’s ‘Clan Usuga,’ aka the Urabeños

COLOMBIA / 16 SEP 2015

The hunt for the leadership of the Urabeños, Colombia's most powerful criminal group, has now been ongoing for over half a year. With many labelling the campaign a failure, federal judicial officials…

Colombia Intensifies Search for Urabeños Leader

OTONIEL / 16 MAR 2015

Colombia has deployed significant resources to a mahunt for the leader of drug trafficking organization the Urabeños, one of the few remaining high-profile drug lords still on the loose in the…

Colombia’s Police Tighten Noose Around Urabeños Leader

OTONIEL / 13 DEC 2013

Police in Colombia appear to be closing in on the country's most wanted criminal, the military leader of the mighty Urabeños, Dario Antonio Usuga, alias "Otoniel."…

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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…

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InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas

FEATURED / 2 NOV 2020

In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…

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