BOGOTA, Feb 2, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - At least nine people were killed Tuesday in
northwestern Colombia in an army raid on the Gulf Clan drug cartel, whose
commander was captured last October.

  The operation began early Tuesday and was still underway in the evening
when Defense Minister Diego Molano announced that "so far nine deaths have
been identified in operations" against the drug gang.

  The bodies were found in a rural area in the municipality of Ituango, a
stronghold of the Gulf Clan, whose leader Dario Antonio Usuga, also known as
Otoniel, was arrested in October in a raid involving 500 police and military
personnel.

  After the arrest of Otoniel, considered the most wanted drug trafficker in
Colombia, President Ivan Duque declared the "end" of the Gulf Clan, which the
government said was responsible for 30 percent of the cocaine being smuggled
out of Colombia.

  Otoniel is being held in a prison in Bogota pending his extradition to the
United States, which had offered a $5 million reward for information leading
to his capture.