Criminal gang announces end of armed attacks that paralyzed northern Colombia

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - The Gulf Clan criminal gang on Monday announced the end of a series of armed attacks across northern Colombia that began last Thursday which have left at least six people dead and 180 vehicles destroyed, although residents of more than 180 municipalities are refusing to leave their homes.

"We have decided to lift the armed strike at the request of the community until further orders from our comrades to retake force against this indolent state. They have seen the power we have with the people to stop entire municipalities,” it said in a statement circulated on social media. “We call on the community to observe the reality. You will see the reality of this lying government.”

​​​​​​​"We call on the citizens to continue from 12 p.m. onwards with their daily activities," it added.

In retaliation for the extradition of their leader to the US, the drug cartel confined families, terrorized villages and cornered the local population for the past five days.

Dairo Antonio Usuga, aka "Otoniel," the leader of the Gulf Clan cartel, was extradited to the US on May 4 on drug trafficking charges. Usuga was Colombia’s most wanted drug lord before he was captured in October 2021 following a massive military operation.

Police have arrested 92 people during the armed attacks who are responsible for the burning of 13 vehicles, authorities said. They include a man with the alias "Pedro," one of the top leaders of the Gulf Clan in the department of Magdalena.

In the process, 12 firearms, 481 cartridges, six grenades and 23 cell phones have been seized.

Although 56,000 military personnel were deployed in the affected departments, local authorities have criticized the government, saying the presence of the security forces is insufficient.

Colombian President Ivan Duque led a security council session after the criminal group announced that it had ended its armed strike.

"The Gulf Clan has tried to generate intimidation through cowardly acts, desperately trying to show a strength that it does not have. To these criminals, the message is clear: either they submit to justice or they will suffer the same fate as 'Otoniel'," the president wrote on his Twitter account.