Colombia: Drug kingpin busted in Honduras

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BOGOTA, July 18 (UPI) -- The alleged No. 2 in a Colombian drug-trafficking organization has been arrested in Honduras, officials say.

Colombian authorities said the operation that led to the arrest of Alexander Montoya Usuga, nicknamed "El Flaco," was run jointly with Honduras, Colombia Reports said. Montoya, 33, was allegedly traveling in an airplane stolen from El Dorado Airport in Bogota some months ago and had just flown into Honduras from a third country.

Montoya faces charges of murder and drug trafficking, authorities said.

Officials describe Montoya as the second-in-command in the Urabenos, a paramilitary group involved in the drug business. His family, the "Usuga clan," is in charge of the drug operation, officials say, and he succeeded to the No. 2 spot when his cousin, Juan de Dios Usaga, or "Giovanni," was killed by Colombian security forces Jan. 1.

Montoya was a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a right-wing paramilitary group that is now defunct, officials say.