Colombian Cocaine Kingpin Montoya Is Captured in His Underwear
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BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Soldiers swarmed onto a farm yesterday and captured one of the world’s most wanted drug lords hiding in bushes in his underwear. Colombian officials called it their biggest drug war victory since the 1993 slaying of the Medellín cartel leader, Pablo Escobar.
Diego Montoya, who sits with Osama bin Laden on the FBI’s 10 most-wanted list and has a $5 million bounty on his head, allegedly leads the Norte del Valle cartel.
It is deemed Colombia’s most dangerous drug gang and is accused of shipping hundreds of tons of cocaine to America since the 1990s.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told a news conference at Bogotá’s airport that Mr. Montoya was responsible for 1,500 killings in his career.
“Drug traffickers take note: This is the future that awaits you,” Mr. Santos said before the heavy-set, 49-year-old Mr. Montoya limped out of an air force plane wearing plastic handcuffs and escorted by five commandos. Mr. Montoya put up no resistance when the army finally cornered him in the cartel’s stronghold of Valle del Cauca state in western Colombia, officials said. He is to be questioned before being extradited to America, a process that Mr. Santos said would take at most two months.