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Clan del Golfo

"Úsuga" redirects here. For people named Úsuga, see Úsuga (surname).
Clan del Golfo
Leaders
Dates of operation2001–present
HeadquartersUrabá, Colombia
IdeologyAnti-communism
Conservatism
Political positionRight-wing to Far Right
SizeUnknown
AlliesSinaloa Cartel[5]
Jalisco New Generation Cartel[5]
'Ndrangheta[5]
Sicilian Mafia[5]
Los Choneros[6]
OpponentsELN
FARC dissidents

The Clan del Golfo (English: The Gulf Clan), also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a prominent Colombian neo-paramilitary group and currently the country's largest drug cartel.

Los Urabeños is one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia. The crime syndicate recruits its members mainly from former right-wing paramilitaries and is said to have around 6,000 men under arms. In addition to drug trafficking, the Gulf clan is also involved in illegal mining and racketeering and is responsible for numerous murders and expulsions.[7] It is based in the Urabá region of Antioquia, and is involved in the Colombian armed conflict.[8][9][10]

Los Urabeños is one of the organizations that appeared after the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. In late 2011 Los Urabeños declared war on Los Rastrojos over the control of the drug trade in Medellín.[11] Their main source of income is cocaine trafficking as they appear to be the largest distributors of cocaine in all of Colombia.[12][10] As of late 2021, it is considered the most powerful criminal organization in Colombia, having some 3,000 members in the inner circle of the organization in 2016 with its current numbers unknown.[13][14] Its rivals include the National Liberation Army. The Gulf Clan has recruited accomplices at the highest level of the military hierarchy, such as generals and colonels.[15][16]

One of the many groups made up of former mid-level paramilitary leaders, the Clan have caused homicide rates to skyrocket in Colombia's northern departments. It is currently one of the more ambitious and ruthless of Colombia's drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). The group's power base is currently in the Antioquia, Sucre and Córdoba departments, with a presence in various other departments and regions in the country including major cities such as Medellín and Bogotá.[17] Currently, the Clan is likely the single largest distributor of cocaine in the world having formed direct, highly-lucrative partnerships with drug cartels in Mexico as well as European crime group such as 'Ndrangheta who made their billions in profit from the illegal cocaine trade with the Clan.[10][18]

In June 2020, the Colombian National Police revealed that former Los Rastrojos member Marlon Gregorio Celis Caballero, alias 'Loquillo or Felipe', had become the new leader of the Clan del Golfo by April 2020.[19] At the time of this revelation, the Clan del Golfo reduced its drug trafficking route to the Caribbean region and also named a Ciénaga native with the alias "Diana" as the new head trafficker.[19] However, the Clan del Golfo has also been distracted by a direct conflict with FARC dissidents.[20][21] On October 23, 2021, the group's leader Dario Antonio Úsuga David, better known as Otoniel, was captured. At the time of his arrest, Otoniel was Colombia's most wanted drug lord.[22] Following the arrest of Otoniel, President of Colombia Iván Duque Márquez described the weakened Clan del Golfo as "over" and claimed that "its days are numbered".[23]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference trafficker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference cuarentanomore was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference braincaught was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "El hermano de alias Giovany es el nuevo jefe de los Urabeños". canalrcnmsn.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "Gulf Clan Sends Drugs to 28 Countries in Alliance with Mafias". AP. 3 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Choneros, Lobos, Tiguerones... Así operan las bandas narcodelictivas que han puesto en jaque a Ecuador". 20Minutos. 12 January 2024.
  7. ^ "USA: Kolumbianischer Drogenboss zu 45 Jahren Haft verurteilt". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  8. ^ "Urabeños". Insightcrime.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-28. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  9. ^ "The Gulf Clan the new generation of narcos of Colombia (Spanish)". CNN. 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  10. ^ a b c "The Albanian Mafia's International Cocaine Empire". Criminal Planet: The Albanian Mafia’s International Cocaine Empire. Vice TV. May 11, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "'Los Urabeños' declaran la guerra a 'Los Rastrojos' | Colombia". Vanguardia.com. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  12. ^ "Incautan una tonelada de cocaína de Los Urabeños en La Guajira". El Colombiano. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  13. ^ "Urabeños". Colombia Reports. Retrieved 2016-06-08.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Urabeños - Gulf Clan". InSight Crime. 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  15. ^ RedacciĂłn Judicial (2022-02-15). "Excomandante de las Fuerzas Militares serÄa parte de tentĂĄculo del Clan del golfo" (in Spanish). El Espectador. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  16. ^ "Coronel (r) GonzĂĄlez del RÄo, a prisiĂłn mientras es investigado por nexo con "narcos"?" (in Spanish). El Espectador. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  17. ^ "Urabeños". Colombia Reports. Retrieved 2012-09-17.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ Pelcastre, Julieta (12 May 2021). "Mexican Narcotrafficking Cartels Expand their Control in Colombia". Diálogo Americas. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Clan del Golfo ya tendría nuevo jefe en la región Caribe". seguimiento.co.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference war was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Why Colombia's militarised police need reform". The Economist. September 19, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  22. ^ "Colombia's most wanted drug lord Otoniel captured". BBC News. October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  23. ^ "Colombia authorities capture country's most wanted drug trafficker". Leader Telegram. October 23, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.

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