U.S. Border Patrol arrested a Colombian gangster at the El Paso, Texas, border and found torture videos on his phone, along with tattoos pledging his allegiance to the Clan del Golfo cartel.
The unidentified man was arrested on March 14 and announced on X on Wednesday by USBP chief Jason Owens, along with photos of him.
Owens said that when the Colombian citizen tried to enter the U.S. illegally, agents searched him and his phone and discovered photos “of people being tortured.”
“He also had specific tattoos indicative of gang membership (Clan del Golfo),” Owens said.
The Clan del Golfo Cartel, or Gulf Clan, is Colombia’s largest drug gang, known as the largest cocaine distributors in the South American country.
A Colombian man was arrested at the border of El Paso, Texas, as he tried to enter the US illegally. Officers searched him and his phone and found photos ‘of people being tortured’
USBP chief Jason Owens said the man also had specific tattoos indicative of gang membership (Clan del Golfo)’
DailyMail.com reached out to the U.S. Border Patrol for more information about the man who was arrested but did not hear back in time for this report.
The cartel’s former boss, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, was captured and arrested in October 2021 and extradited to the US in May 2022 after sending tons of cocaine into the country.
On January 25, 2023, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, also known as ‘Otoniel’, pleaded guilty to cocaine smuggling charges.
Arrested Colombian man is seen in a close-up photo with a teardrop tattoo under his eye and a money bag tattoo between his eyebrows
He pleaded guilty to operating a criminal enterprise, participating in a maritime narcotics conspiracy and participating in a narcotics importation conspiracy.
In addition to admitting that he oversaw the smuggling, Úsuga also acknowledged that “there was a lot of violence.”
During his trial, US District Court Judge Dora Irizarry called him “more productive” than the late King Pablo Escobar.
Úsuga said he “accepted responsibility for the crimes I committed” when he was sentenced.
“I apologize to the governments of the United States and Colombia and to the victims of the crimes I committed,” Úsuga said through an interpreter.
A judge in New York sentenced him to 45 years in prison on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.
He faced a mandatory minimum term of 20 years in prison and, as part of his plea deal, agreed to pay $216 million in forfeiture.
The cartel’s former boss, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, was captured and arrested in October 2021 and extradited to the US in May 2022 after sending tons of cocaine into the country.
In sentencing Úsuga, Judge Irizarry called the nearly 100,000 kilograms (220,500 pounds) of cocaine he shipped to the US while heading the Clan del Golfo cartel “extraordinary.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that the misery wrought by Úsuga’s “incredibly violent, vengeful and bloody rule” may never be fully calculated.
He added that the lengthy sentence “sends a message to other paramilitary and cartel leaders that the United States will demand their arrest and extradition to hold them accountable in our courts.”
Úsuga ordered the killings of alleged enemies — one of whom was tortured, buried alive and beheaded — and terrorized the general public, prosecutors say.
Texas, California and Arizona have seen a surge in illegal migrants entering the US under President Joe Biden.
A federal appeals court has issued an order banning Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally — just hours after the Supreme Court allowed the tough new immigration law to take effect Tuesday.
A federal appeals court has issued an order blocking Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally — just hours after the Supreme Court allowed the tough new immigration law to take effect Tuesday.
The SCOTUS decision had allowed Texas police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, giving local officers powers long delegated to the federal government.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said in a strongly worded statement that the country would refuse to take back anyone ordered to leave the country under state law and that it would punish any state or local government that enforces immigration laws ‘categorically rejects’.
“Mexico reiterates its legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own policies regarding access to its territory,” they said.
It further condemned the Texas law taking effect, saying it would criminalize migrants and lead to family separation, discrimination and racial profiling.