A Colombian drug kingpin has been sentenced on Monday to 35
years in a U.S. prison for engaging in a multi-million dollar scheme to
manufacture hundreds of tons of cocaine that he trafficked throughout the
world.
According to authorities, Barrera, 48, had been one of the
most prolific drug traffickers of the last two decades before his capture in
Venezuela in 2012 following years in hiding.
Daniel Barrera Barrera, also known as 'Loco' or 'The
Madman', was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan after
pleading guilty to various narcotic-related charges and to having conspired to
engage in money laundering, Daily Mail reports.
Woods, who also fined Barrera $10 million and ordered him to
forfeit the same amount, called the Colombian national a 'smart, talented,
maybe even gifted man' who went from working as a farm hand to heading a
violent drug trafficking organization.
'Simply put, the scope of the offense here is staggering,'
Woods said.
Speaking through a Spanish translator before the sentence
was imposed, Barrera said he wanted the opportunity to be released from prison
someday and see his grandchildren.
'I ask for my family's forgiveness for all of the suffering
I have caused them,' he said.
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