Recorded confessions made by the man who was Colombia’s most wanted drug lord before his arrest have been stolen, in another blow to his latest trial, officials said on Saturday.
The recordings of Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known as “Otoniel,” were made on Wednesday by a member of the Truth Commission, the body investigating a decades-long conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that ended with a 2016 peace deal.
The commission said in a statement that “unidentified persons entered the investigator’s home at night” on Friday.
Photo: AP
“In the incident ... the digital recorders that were used in the interview and a computer were stolen,” it said.
The commission had on Thursday stressed the need to have “guarantees” that Otoniel’s testimonies were received “in confidentiality,” after various media outlets reported police officers were present during the interrogations.
Police interrupted a hearing for Otoniel on Thursday, arguing there were concerns he was planning to escape.
The commission also asked authorities and the international community, including the UN, for conditions to continue investigating “without intimidation.”
Usuga, 50, was arrested in October last year in northwest Colombia’s dense jungle during an operation involving about 700 uniformed agents backed by 18 helicopters.
The government of Colombian President Ivan Duque has expressed its intention that he be extradited soon to the US, where he is wanted on drug trafficking charges.
Otoniel has been convicted in Colombia on charges including drug trafficking, homicide, terrorism, recruitment of minors and kidnapping.
He led the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s largest drug gang, which exports about 300 tonnes of cocaine annually, official data show.
Colombia is officially at peace after signing a pact with the FARC in 2016 to end more than half-a-century of armed conflict.
However, it has seen a flareup of violence in the past few months due to fighting over territory and resources by dissident guerillas, the National Liberation Army rebel group, paramilitary forces and drug cartels.
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