{"id":1067,"date":"2017-11-15T23:06:10","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T23:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=1067"},"modified":"2017-11-15T23:06:10","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T23:06:10","slug":"colombia-seizes-12-tons-of-cocaine-in-countrys-biggest-ever-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2017\/11\/15\/colombia-seizes-12-tons-of-cocaine-in-countrys-biggest-ever-haul\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia seizes 12 tons of cocaine in country&#8217;s biggest ever haul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>France 24<\/p>\n<h2>Police seized more than 12 tons of cocaine from Colombia\u2019s top crime gang on Wednesday, the biggest haul ever in the nation\u2019s long-running fight against drug trafficking, President Juan Manuel Santos said.<\/h2>\n<p>The cocaine, with a U.S. market value estimated by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/juan-manuel-santos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Santos<\/a> at about $360 million, was found stored underground on four farms in a banana-growing region of northwest Antioquia province, near <a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/colombia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Colombia<\/a>\u2019s border with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/panama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Panama<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to a police operation with overseas intelligence, from friendly countries, the largest seizure in history was made,\u201d Santos said at a police base where the cocaine was laid out in packages on display.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery-material orientation-center\"><!-- Body --><\/p>\n<div class=\"bd\">\n<div class=\"flex-viewport\">\n<ul class=\"g-list slides\">\n<li class=\"clone\">\n<p class=\"media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/scd.france24.com\/en\/files\/element_multimedia\/image\/09112017_colombia_santos_620x350.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"diaporama-copy\"><span class=\"copyImgCredit\">\u00a9 AFP photo\/Colombia\u2019s Presidency | Handout picture released by Colombia&#8217;s Presidency shows President Juan Manuel Santos speaking to the press alongside 12 tons of cocaine on November 8, 2017 in Apartado, Antioquia, Colombia. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/scd.france24.com\/en\/files\/element_multimedia\/image\/09112017_colombia_cocaine_620_350.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"diaporama-copy\"><span class=\"copyImgCredit\">\u00a9 AFP photo\/Colombia&#8217;s Presidency | This handout picture released by Colombia&#8217;s Presidency shows anti-narcotics police members guarding over 12 tons of cocaine on November 8, 2017 in Apartado, Antioquia, Colombia. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END Footer --><\/div>\n<p>Santos linked the cocaine to the drug-trafficking gang known as the Gulf Clan, which has become one of the biggest threats to security<a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/20170816-colombia-declares-war-truly-over-last-farc-guns-roll-away\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> since peace was signed last year<\/a> with Marxist-led <a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/farc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)<\/a> guerrillas.<\/p>\n<p>The seizure comes as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/usa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">United States<\/a>, Colombia\u2019s staunchest ally in the fight against drug trafficking, has raised concern over an increase in coca cultivation and as the government faces criticism from opposition lawmakers for allowing new crime gangs to fill the void left by the FARC.<\/p>\n<p>Santos, who leaves office next year, has pledged to send 80,000 military and police to areas once controlled by the FARC in a bid to prevent new trafficking gangs from taking hold.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tweeter-1-material orientation-center\"><\/div>\n<p>Four people were arrested during the three-day operation leading to the drug seizure, according to a police statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Gulf Clan is led by fugitive Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel. The United States has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture or death.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to drugs, the gang deals in illegal mining and most if its estimated 1,500 members formerly served in the ranks of right-wing paramilitary groups.<\/p>\n<p>Colombia is one of the world\u2019s leading producers of cocaine, with output of around 910 tons per year, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Anti-drug police have confiscated 362 tons of cocaine this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>France 24 Police seized more than 12 tons of cocaine from Colombia\u2019s top crime gang on Wednesday, the biggest haul ever in the nation\u2019s long-running fight against drug trafficking, President Juan Manuel Santos said. The cocaine, with a U.S. market value estimated by Santos at about $360 million, was found stored underground on four farms in a banana-growing region of&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2017\/11\/15\/colombia-seizes-12-tons-of-cocaine-in-countrys-biggest-ever-haul\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1068,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}