Urabeños - Gulf Clan
Date of Publication
2021 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Transnational Organized Crime
Keywords
Transnational Organized Crime, Organized Crime, Uraba, Colombia, paramilitary, Gulf Clan
Description
The Urabeños, also known as the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), emerged from the ashes of Colombia’s paramilitary movement to become the dominant criminal force in Colombia, with a reach that spread across the country. However, under pressure from authorities, the hold that leadership has over local cells that form this national network is getting weaker, and the group stands on the precipice of splintering into independent factions. This process may only be further accelerated by the capture in October 2021 of the group's leader, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” by security forces in northern Colombia. While his control had been slipping for a few years under the pressure of a sustained manhunt, he remained an identifiable leader for the group, and his removal may trigger further fragmentation.
Urabeños - Gulf Clan
The Urabeños, also known as the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), emerged from the ashes of Colombia’s paramilitary movement to become the dominant criminal force in Colombia, with a reach that spread across the country. However, under pressure from authorities, the hold that leadership has over local cells that form this national network is getting weaker, and the group stands on the precipice of splintering into independent factions. This process may only be further accelerated by the capture in October 2021 of the group's leader, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” by security forces in northern Colombia. While his control had been slipping for a few years under the pressure of a sustained manhunt, he remained an identifiable leader for the group, and his removal may trigger further fragmentation.
