Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Global Stage AI for Good Summit WATCH RECORDING
News

What We're Watching: Colombia nabs top druglord

What We're Watching: Colombia nabs top druglord

Dairo Antonio Usuga David, alias "Otoniel", top leader of the Gulf clan, poses for a photo while escorted by Colombian military soldiers inside a helicopter after being captured, in Turbo, Colombia October 23, 2021.

Colombian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Make us preferred on Google

Colombia nabs top drug kingpin: Colombian security forces have arrested Dairo Antonio Usuga, the most-wanted drug kingpin in the country since Pablo Escobar. Usuga – known by his alias Otoniel – is head of the notorious Gulf Cartel, and will likely be extradited to face a slew of charges in the US, which had a $5 million bounty on his head. While some say Otoniel's capture is a big win for Colombia, others say that rather than striking a blow to narco-related violence, the strategy of taking down kingpins creates more power struggles within cartels, in turn leading to more violence and bloodshed. This was the case following the 1993 death of Escobar and the 2016 arrest of "El Chapo" Guzmán in Mexico. Still, if Otoniel spills the beans on his operations in exchange for a lighter sentence in America, that could provide critical intelligence for Colombian and US drug enforcement to better target other narcos at a time when large swaths of rural Colombia are now ruled by gangs, contributing to regional instability.

More For You

Ebola death toll tops 600
Farida Dowidar
The Ebola outbreak reached a grim milestone on Thursday. Six hundred people have died in the Congo, according to the country’s health ministry. At the same time, healthcare workers at the center of the outbreak in the Ituri province are striking to protest delays in their wages and bonuses, risking further setbacks to efforts to contain the deadly [...]
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO leaders summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026.​

US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump gives Ukraine another boostUS President Donald Trump said he would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air-defense missiles during the NATO meeting in Turkey on Wednesday, fulfilling a longstanding request from Kyiv. These interceptors can protect Ukraine from Russia’s ballistic missiles – Kyiv is struggling to block such attacks. [...]
​Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte arrives before the start of her impeachment trial

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte arrives before the start of her impeachment trial hearing at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 7, 2026.

REUTERS/Noel Celis/Pool
Assassination plots. International arrest warrants. Political dynasties battling for power. What might sound like a storyline from a Netflix political drama has instead become reality in Philippine politics over the past two years. The spectacle reached a new stage this week with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte getting [...]
The day after announcing her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election, Marine Le Pen visits La Fleche, in the Sarthe department, on July 8, 2026.​

The day after announcing her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election, Marine Le Pen (National Rally – RN), accompanied by Jordan Bardella, made her first campaign appearance during a visit to the market in La Fleche, in the Sarthe department, on July 8, 2026.

Frederic Petry / Hans Lucas
Yesterday, a French appeals court shortened a ban on far-right leader Marine Le Pen seeking public office, effectively allowing her to stand in the 2027 presidential election. Hours after the verdict was announced, Le Pen officially announced her fourth bid for the Elysée Palace, despite judges upholding her embezzlement conviction and sentencing [...]